What Happened Next
by Hunger4Righteousness
Summary: Beginning after Titan's defeat; Megamind and Roxanne are still at the scene. R suffers from shock and M is there to take charge. They confront some issues brought up in the movie, decide where they're headed romantically, and meet an unexpected villain.
1. Chapter 1

This is my very first attempt at fanfiction. Wow. I feel quite vulnerable. Because actually this is my first creative writing effort since high school. I did plenty of research papers in college, but this is different.

I really loved this movie. There is an undercurrent of some very deep issues and themes in Megamind's character and his relationship with Roxanne that obviously touches a lot of us, otherwise we wouldn't be here. Still, I admit feeling a bit sheepish about writing for an animated set of characters. However I found them so attractive that I was composing stories in my head immediately. Then I found fanfiction and decided to write some things down for my own amusement. Now I'm sharing. Please be gentle with me in your reviews! I don't feel I kept the principle players in character as well as could be done, especially Roxanne whom I made uncharacteristically weak here (using 'shock' as my excuse), but I'll post this anyway. Couldn't resist taking them further romantically.

My take on Megamind is that he really is a genius but also a goofball who loves to act up. He desperately wants to be taken seriously, and he has a heart of gold. He has a great sense of humor and is comfortable being himself although he realizes others are not very accepting of him as himself (mostly the way he looks). His mispronunciations I think are 95% deliberate - he does it to annoy people and play the role of "Megamind", such as saying Metrocity to rhyme with atrocity, Metro-mon, speeider - it's all part of the act. However, we occasionally see his lack of social upbringing in not knowing how to answer a phone or never having ridden a bike before. This however is endearing since we all feel some pity for him. Therefore I purposely didn't include a lot of mispronunciations. I think the way he acted as Bernard was the heart of the man, and then his tendency to be dramatic and pick a fight is just the cream on top. :)

I hope you enjoy this!

* * *

People swarmed around, a low hum of excitement followed the initial wild cheering and clapping at Titan's defeat. The first reporters and cameramen were already arriving on the scene, even before the ambulances whose sirens could be heard making their way to the area. The mayor was pulling up in a limo and cautiously getting out, his eyes wide. Many people were simply staring and trying to take in the fact that this frightening blue man in torn leather and spandex was no longer a threat – he'd actually just saved them all. His face was finally relaxed (after his initial knee-jerk reaction of thinking they were coming after him as a mob), and he was even shaking a few hands. Where was the maniacal laughter they all automatically expected to hear? The man who had been Titan had begun groaning on the ground, looked like a deflated balloon, and no one had quite the nerve to approach him yet. Megamind had moved back over to him and stood hovering, still on the defensive.

"Stay down, Hal, for your own good. Minion, is there anything left he didn't destroy?"

"Well, sir, the brainbots have nearly got the door back on the invisible car. It seems to be undamaged except for that. The hoverbike's a write off for now, but I think we can salvage it with a lot of work." Minion shrugged the hairy shoulders of the back-up robotic suit the brainbots had arrived with. He was used to putting Megamind's inventions back together after battles. It was like working a puzzle. Brainbots zoomed around the area, picking up pieces and parts of equipment to return to the lair and working on the invisible car.

"Good. I'd prefer leaving here under my own power." He glanced over at Roxanne, nearby in the crowd but out of reach of Hal, just in case.

Minion blinked and looked confused. "Why? Sir! You're the new hero! Time to bask in the adulation of the crowd!"

"This is all well and good, Minion, but I'd like some time to… adjust to my new role." He still couldn't believe the turn of events – he'd become the hero and actually won, for real this time, but he acutely felt at a loose end about his relationship with Roxanne, although he didn't mention that to Minion. "I'm not sure the crowd is completely ready for adulation just yet. Look at them. They're stunned and who can blame them? I was evil and suddenly I'm good? No, this'll take some time. After the formal niceties, we'll take off. Doesn't hurt to keep some semblance of mystery as a hero either, after all."

He gazed over at Roxanne who was nearby, surrounded by people and reporters asking questions and looking at her. She looked up at him suddenly and smiled weakly. He smiled back but noticed her lips were pale, and he could see she didn't seem quite herself. The sudden realization of all they'd been through that day hit him hard. His heart wrenched in his chest. Eyes fixed darkly on her, he shoved aside the brave reporter that had just made his way to the front of the crowd, microphone in hand ready to interview the city's new unlikely hero.

"Roxanne!"

Just as he reached her, her knees buckled and she grabbed the front of his suit. She didn't faint. She didn't want to do that.

"I do not feel well at all."

"We're getting out of here," he muttered, then smiled at the crowd and briefly re-entered his dramatic role. Better give the crowd what they expect. "No more questions! I believe Ms Ritchie has been through enough for today. I will certainly be glad to entertain you all with glorious retellings of my victory at a press conference, eh, later."

"Press conference?" Minion smiled. The boss wasn't doing too badly adjusting to his new role.

"Ow…"

"Spikes! Sorry…" Pulling off the studded gloves, he swooped her up in both arms before she could fall to the ground. He didn't even notice the bold admirer who snatched up a glove and carried it off like a trophy. A brainbot began to track the man down to retrieve it.

"What about Hal?" she asked, her voice quieter than usual.

"No worries there. He's not up for any more trouble today." Looking back, he saw a couple police officers on foot had arrived and stood looking down at Hal curiously, cuffs ready. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm just… kind of cold." She looked dazed and was shivering. Delayed shock, he wondered? She had nearly died today.

"Minion! Where are the ambulances?"

"Held up getting through the rubble, I believe, sir. The invisible car's ready though. The brainbots are finished and the door's back on." He held out one of Megamind's black capes. "This was in the back. Might help Ms Ritchie…?" He put it over her. Minion was genuinely concerned. He'd always had a soft spot for Roxanne and was proud of his role in helping save her.

Megamind looked down at the lady in his arms covered with his black cape. He felt a fierce protectiveness toward her which was new, and yet… somehow it wasn't. He'd been falling for her for a long time – longer than he'd admitted to himself before. He was dismayed at the overwhelming awareness of how much of this was simply the consequences of his own doing. _Hal, Titan, Bernard... I am a fool!_ Roxanne was still awake but not responding much. When she felt the cape, she let out deep breath and laid her head onto Megamind's shoulder, closing her eyes.

The mayor suddenly was standing in front of them, his hand held out bravely although he was not at all relaxed. "Thank you, er, Megamind. Ah... heh! This is very unfamiliar, but, ah, well, it seems we're going to have to get used to a new sort of association!"

"Yes… well, my hands are a bit tied at the moment, as you can see. Please excuse me for not shaking your hand." He noticed the mayor was looking at him very interestedly but not staring rudely or with disgust. _He seems surprised I can speak in a reasonable tone of voice, like a normal person._ "I really need to take Ms Ritchie somewhere quiet to rest. I think… she's in shock. But, I will get back to you!" he added with a touch of the old drama.

The invisible car glided up to the curb, Minion at the wheel, and Megamind quickly and carefully put Roxanne in the back, then climbed in beside her. Reporters were now bold enough to shout questions, cameras glared and flashed, the mayor looked on with a slightly amused and amazed expression on his face. _I've given him a lot to think about._


	2. Chapter 2

"Where to, sir?"

Thinking quickly, he figured she's be most comforted by being back in her own home. Plus anything she needed would be there at hand - blankets, something to drink, a shower and change of clothes.

"Ms Ritchie's apartment, Minion."

"Are you taking me home?" She was awake after all but still leaning against his side, the cape keeping her warm. His arm was around her, supporting her. "That might not work out very well…"

"Why? I couldn't leave you there in the crowd and I didn't want to stay and be mobbed any longer. You were about to collapse." With her head on his shoulder, she could only glance up and see the bottom on his jaw and feel the buzz of his neck as he spoke. _How did we get to this point? Hmm, it is nice though. He's warm… and he smells good. What do I care if he's blue or orange or black or green even. His arms seem really strong even though he's not built like Metro Man. He's… taking care of me. Why do I feel so weak? I must be in shock. Megamind was never as dangerous a villain as Titan. He really wanted us dead… _She shuddered.

As they turned the corner of the block where her apartment was located, Megamind suddenly understood why it wasn't a good idea to return her home. Every parking space along both sides of the street was full of cars and vans. The sidewalks were clogged with groupings of TV personalities in front of cameras, reporters scribbling or simply waiting, and Carlos the doorman was looking harassed but determined at the front of the apartment building.

"Crab nuggets!" Minion exclaimed.

Roxanne laughed weakly. Megamind rolled his eyes. "Honestly… don't your TV people ever go home? Alright, what about the hospital? No, they'd be onto us there in no time. Well, let's head back to evil lair for now. Maybe they'll give up when they can't find us." He looked down at Roxanne again. "How are you feeling? Maybe we should risk the hospital?"

"Uh, sir. I don't think we can call it 'evil lair' anymore. We're the good guys now!" Minion's eyes were bright in the rearview mirror and his smile was infectious. He was obviously going to enjoy the shift in loyalty. Both occupants of the back seat smiled at him.

"You're right, Minion. I'll leave the renaming to you." Minion grinned and began thinking up ideas immediately, looking pleased while he muttered possible new names to himself.

Roxanne attempted to sit up straighter and looked into her rescuer's face. "I think I'm feeling somewhat better. And I really would rather not go to the hospital. You were right to get us out of the crowd. I guess… I'm not used to actually being in danger." Her face was still pale.

"Hmph! What do you call all of MY schemes?" He feigned feeling indignant, but secretly he was relieved she'd seemed to rally so quickly. She was a tough one.

Cocking her head to one side, she smiled wryly. "You never were going to hurt me, were you? It was all part of the game. After awhile I got it. Metro Man and you enjoyed putting on a show and pretending to be rivals, and I was part of the act. It was actually more interesting after I realized that… at least sometimes. You could be rather annoying, although the banter was fun."

"I refuse to admit any such thing," he said sulkily. "We were genuinely rivals! Have been since the old shool days. You wouldn't believe the things he used to get away with doing to me. Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes could do no wrong!" He sighed. "I still can't believe he chose to give up like that. Where's his spirit? Where's his loyalty?"

"Apparently in his music." She shrugged and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh gag."

"Wha... _you_ said he had talent!"

"Oh… well, I didn't want to crush him mercilessly. I mean, a little white lie for a good reason… something he obviously cares about…"

_Crush him mercilessly… something he obviously cares about... that's what I did to HIM. _The memory of his face in the rain, so hurt, suddenly filled her vision and twisted in her heart like a knife. _Then he came to save my life. I think that's when the game really ended. Metro Man never really saved my life or risked his own for me. Who's the real hero?_


	3. Chapter 3

_I know how it feels to be totally crushed. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. _No beating had ever hurt as bad as the night he walked home in the rain, replaying the horrible scene of rejection over and over in his head. Megamind watched the streets roll past the window, his face a mask of worry. Could they get past that? Would she ever forgive him for that deception and accept him the way he really was? He couldn't be Bernard any longer, even if that's what she wished for. _I hope she doesn't wish for that. It feels amazing to hold her so close. _He swallowed hard and felt like a stone had lodged in his heart.

"Megamind… there's something we have to talk about."

"No. Listen." His green eyes looked seriously into her own, his brows low. "This isn't the right time for that. You've been through a lot today. It can wait until later. When you're feeling stronger. Although…. I agree. We need to… discuss some things." His voice was low and serious. He sounded more like Bernard than ever. She closed her eyes and put her head on his shoulder again, leaning against him and wrapping her arms around him tightly. She felt him adjust the cape to cover her better and his arms tentatively hold her closer, unsure if that's really what she wanted. He was being as gentle with her as if she were made of fine crystal. This was a super-villain? Who was this man that could be such a nut, such an actor enjoying the 'bad guy' role wholeheartedly, blasting heavy metal music and laughing wickedly, and yet having the sincerity of Bernard? And then he stepped in front of her in the path of a killer, risking his life for a woman who'd been so cruel to him. This was going to take some getting used to, thinking of Megamind as this sort of man, but she found couldn't wait to find out more about him now. If only he could get past the hurt she had caused him.

She decided she couldn't wait. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered onto his neck, the hot tears pricking at her eyes surprised her.

"What?" He was genuinely alarmed and tensed immediately. Was she going to dump him again? Was this it? His arms relaxed to let her go, but he didn't have the courage to look into her face. "Why? Why are you apologizing to _me_? I'm the one who lied – deceived you. I'm sorry! Gah, I wish it had never happened that way!" He covered his face with one hand. It felt like his heart was being ripped up, but he plowed on, determined to make his apology even if she was ending it. He had to say it all. "Look… I can't be sorry for having had that time with you. It was wonderful. Just… for Bernard. I never meant to continue being him, but I… I enjoyed the time with you so much… I couldn't stop." His face was a picture of misery again. That was it – she must be done with him.

She pulled away and looked at him, tears stung her eyes. Her heart melted to see him looking so broken… again. He looked fearful, but still he gently wiped away a tear from her cheek. "That night… I never should have said those things. You were right – I reacted to seeing you there suddenly in Bernard's place. Surprised at the book's cover. The more I thought about it later, I realized… it was you. Really, it was you that I fell in love with. Megamind himself! And I couldn't believe it. And then I hurt you because I was angry at being tricked. I think really… I fooled myself most of all." There were a lot of clues and pieces of the puzzle she'd just ignored the whole time because they didn't fit what she expected to be true – things she couldn't accept might be true about Megamind. The reporter's brain she'd cultivated so well had been sleeping on the job although not completely. When she went home that night she couldn't stop her brain from putting it all together, and yet she still resisted the truth because when he showed up the next day, she almost hadn't helped him.

_She's not dumping me!_ He felt numb from disbelief and hope.

"Uh, Roxanne… did you really say 'fell in love'?" His breathing was shallow. "Please don't…"

"Yes… yes, I did." She smiled at the flood of relief that crossed his face. She reached up and softly ran her fingertips down the beard on his chin_. I've always liked this – even when he was a villain. Very handsome. _When she pulled him in for a kiss, she heard him sigh as deeply as someone who'd just been found not guilty in court. Soft, strong kisses caressed her lips. This was not heated passion yet – just an amazing moment of two people finally putting it all together. He held her closer, amazed at how incredible this felt, and searched for every tiny bit of lip to kiss as though she might disappear and he'd never have the chance to know these kisses again.

* * *

Minion's eyes were wide and concerned in the rearview mirror. No one was paying any attention to him though. He knew something very serious was going on back there and he hoped it would turn out well. Was Ms Ritchie crying? What had Megamind said to her? He couldn't hear them very well; they were speaking very quietly. He didn't want to see his lifelong friend hurt, but he also thought Ms Ritchie could be good company. She certainly knew how to banter well. Wouldn't it be great for Megamind to have Roxanne in his life? He often worried lately that his boss was lonely and had been reclusive for too long. And now that they were on the side of justice… maybe…

Glancing back in the rearview mirror again, his eyes nearly popped out at seeing them locked in an embrace, lip to lip, oblivious to anything else. The car swerved slightly and he righted it. Megamind glanced up and smiled slightly at his fishy friend.

"Eyes on the road, Minion!"

"Yes, sir! No problem, sir!"

Megamind chuckled and Roxanne giggled. Minion just grinned to himself. Things seemed to be working out all right after all.

Megamind looked at Roxanne tenderly. "Now, are you sure that this isn't just a product of all the stress and tension you've just lived through? I understand people do things they regret later when they're under stress. I'm not going to take advantage of you in a moment of weakness, although… I have to admit the temptation is certainly there…" he admitted softly, tracing the line of her cheekbone. "But I couldn't take having you change your mind later, in a more rational moment. I mean," he seemed unsure of himself, "can you really learn to live with… well, this?" he exclaimed rather dramatically, motioning to himself. She had to laugh at his uncertainty when he usually made such a good show being completely confident.

"Yes, I think I can make that sacrifice." She ran her hand along the solid lines of muscle in his arm up to his neck. The fabric fit like a glove, and she was enjoying this closer view of his fitness. Faking a dramatic sigh, she added, "If I HAVE to…" Smiling, she kissed him again. He looked slightly breathless. He found those simple touches very intoxicating.

"Blue? bald, giant head…"

"Genius, charismatic, handsome, brave…" She touched his lips with her fingertips. "Mmm, and a shockingly good kisser..."

He flashed her one of his more evil-looking smiles with one raised eyebrow for extra effect, making her laugh again. "Temptress…"


	4. Chapter 4

Once she was furnished with a blanket and put on the couch, Minion's proffered cup of hot tea gratefully accepted and feet tucked under her, she really began to look more like herself. And Megamind finally began to relax."Why have I never seen this couch here before?" she asked.

"Well, it hardly fits the image we were going for in an 'evil lair', don't you think? We always pushed it around behind the monitors before a plan was set in action. I mean, come on – Eeeeevil laaair… with a cushy couch? At least it is leather." She chuckled at the thought. He was right. It seemed out of place but she was glad it was here. "I do need a place to crash once in awhile. When I'm not in jail." He lowered himself onto the couch with a small wince. _Oh yeah, it's starting to catch up to me._

Suddenly she realized. "Wait! What about you? Are you hurt?"

"Oh, not much more than usual…" he tried to fluff it off but realized he wasn't doing a very good job anymore from the look on her face. _Her shock is wearing off. Reporter skills coming back online…_

"Megamind, I saw what happened. This was nothing like a battle with Metro Man." She mentally replayed seeing Hal as Titan stomp him onto the ground and throw him against the brick building near the invisible car. She remembered hearing him try to hold back a cry of pain when he punched Hal in the face. She put her mug down and moved closer to look him over. "Oh my gosh, how can you not be…"

"Roxanne… it was worth it." He took the hand she was trying to check his head for injuries with. "Believe me, I'm used to getting beaten up. Since I was little. Prison life is rough. Heck, shool was worse! Why would anyone send a child into a game of _dodge ball_? Barbaric..."

"No broken bones? Aren't you in pain?"

"Oh yeah… there's pain." He closed his eyes and winced again as the back of his head rested against the couch. As usual, it didn't usually start to really hurt until the battle was over and the adrenaline rush wore off. _Oh boy, this is pretty bad. Almost certainly lost a vertebra or two back there. Hope the skull isn't bashed too badly. No vision problems. Wow, has she always looked this good or am I losing focus? _

Just then Minion, who'd been missing from the scene for awhile, hurried over to the couch with something that looked suspiciously like a milkshake, pale blue. "Sir, I think you'd better get this down."

"No, Minion. You know it makes me sleep more, and I can't just leave Roxanne unattended while I pass out. Once the reporters are gone and we can return her home…"

She interrupted. "That's going to be awhile, trust me. What is this? If it helps you, please take it. Please. I can just rest here while you sleep. Minion will keep me company."

Minion grinned in his charmingly fishy way. "It's something we came up with a long time ago. This drink provides him with essential nutrient and mineral components he needs to rebuild bone and muscle tissue. I always make sure he has it after battles. Or dodge ball. You see, Ms Ritchie, his skeletal structure is much different than humans'. It's not calcium based and it's much more flexible, allowing him to withstand hits with less severe damage, but even if the bone does disintegrate, he can regenerate a new one or two completely in about 8 hours."

"Disintegrate? Are you serious?" She turned to Megamind who was resting against the couch with his eyes closed. The grim expression on his face registered disapproval of Minion revealing his medical secrets, but he'd said nothing to stop him. _She needs to know._ "You need a doctor! Doesn't anyone ever help you? Do you have any 'disintegrated' bones right now? What am I saying... how could you not after Hal… How can we tell?" _How did he even pick me up and carry me?_

"A couple back there are definitely messed up pretty good, but I can tell they're already regenerating."

"He always just sleeps off the pain. Never seen him stay awake this long…" Minion looked at his friend fondly but with concern and realized he was using sheer force of will to stay awake for Ms Ritchie's sake. _He really took some massive abuse today, _Minion thought. "We've never been able to come up with anything that helps that much. I guess human medications aren't compatible. Good thing he has a high pain tolerance. I think he really needs to sleep now."

"Minion… I told you…"

"No. Minion is right." She took the unusual drink from Minion's giant hand and pressed it firmly into her hero's blue hand. "Now."

"Will you stay?"

The simple, honest request made her smile. "Yes," she answered as she traced his brow. "I promise I'll still be here when you wake up again. Please drink up."

The drink had barely disappeared before he slipped into blissful unconsciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

Before she knew it, Roxanne had passed an hour chatting with Minion. She was surprised at how comfortable she was with him. He was an alien fish in a mechanical body after all, but he was polite and easy to talk to. He took her on a tour of the lair at her request – no new name for it yet – and they looked at some of Megamind's past inventions and works in progress. The sheer volume of work his mind had produced was actually quite staggering. It was no wonder they had decided to locate their base of operations in a warehouse. Most of it was used for storage. Besides the dilapidated appearance of the building and run-down location deterring any curiosity seekers (except nosy reporters), they needed the space. Many of the inventions were for destructive purposes, some surprisingly silly _("What is that?" – "Oh… that's the robosheep prototype." – "Whaa…?" – "Don't ask…"_), but some had great potential to be used for good. Minion had also given her a fairly basic history of how he and Megamind had come to live on Earth and what his childhood had been like, growing up in prison and their brief school career. She was appalled and fascinated at the same time. So many complicated circumstances and forces had formed this person, besides the fact he was simply and undeniably alien. And he'd actually known Metro Man as a child as well? She'd be sure to ask him about that later.

As they walked down yet another long corridor, she couldn't help asking, "Are you sure he's ok alone back there? I'm really worried about his recovery."

Minion was pleased at her concern, but he reassured her, "Ms Ritchie, I know this battle was the worst yet, but I'm confident he'll be back to his old self soon. His race has amazing powers of regeneration!" _And a stubborn streak a mile wide_, he mentally added.

"How old were you when you arrived here, Minion?"

"It's hard to find an equivalent, but I'd say I was about 7 earth years old. Megamind was only 8 days old."

"So you remember your home planet?"

"Pretty well. I was still very young myself when we left, so there's a lot of things I didn't understand or know yet. I mean, if an earth child left here at 7 years old, there'd be some things he could tell you about humans and some things he wouldn't know or couldn't explain."

Yes, she understood that. It was really tempting to try to keep Minion talking about their original home, but she sensed this might be a rather personal topic to get into, and she was still a relative stranger to him. _I have a feeling that'll change._

Minion was holding open a door and explaining, "And this is where we started training Titan."

"You were… training Hal?" She hadn't thought past Megamind giving Hal his powers. He had to train him too? Hal was a dope, but the idea of the super-villian having to train the hero to be a hero… well, there were just too many implications in that to sort through all at once. And apparently it didn't 'take' anyway._ Megamind knew how to be a hero. It's been inside him all along. Why has he been playing the villain role all these years? _

They were looking at a gym, scoreboards and all. A lot of other things were scattered around as well. Among them she noticed targets, fencing foils, a projector and screen, a damaged mock-up of… a lab?

"This was part of the warehouse?"

"Oh no. We put it in ourselves. Megamind wanted a place to workout when he was younger - a teenager, I guess. He insisted on the scoreboards and all the usual gym equipment."

There was even a rack of dodgeballs against one wall, dusty and apparently set aside long ago. Roxanne recalled Megamind's comment about the game being barbaric. She mentioned it.

"Eh heh. Yeah… he really hates that game. With a passion. In school, Metro Kid always had his way at recess and got all the kids to play it. You can guess who their favorite target was. The kid no one wanted to play with," Minion looked rueful at the memory.

_Bernard told me that. At school no one really liked him. Picked last for everything. He was so different from everyone else. He'd been living in a prison and then treated like that at school_? Roxanne felt sorry for the little boy she never even knew. Her heart was heavy._ It had to have impacted his perception of himself and what to expect from others. I wonder if I could find a photo of him from the school_. Her reporter brain was already constructing articles and interviews that would help the public understand their new defender. None of the books she'd read to research him had these background stories. _I want this to work for him. _

Minion was still explaining. "He came up with ways of defending himself eventually, but I think the hurt never really wore off. When we came here, he insisted we play that until he could dodge anything I threw at him. I didn't like it but if I held back, he'd get very angry with me. And actually, it seems to have come in handy. He's just about impossible to hit with a flying object now." Minion was thinking back to watching Titan with his super powers throwing everything in the street, and he was smiling to himself. Roxanne realized part of his feelings toward Megamind was that he was proud of him.

Cautiously she ventured a more personal question as they went out of the gym and headed back down the hallway. "Minion, what is your relationship to Megamind? I mean, were the two of you just put together by chance? Are you bound in some way to… stay with him? I don't mean to offend you, but we don't have anything quite like this is our culture."

"Well, I think you do, sort of. I'm not a slave, which I suppose would be some people's perception. And I'm not his employee even though I call him the boss sometimes. I think of myself kind of like his guardian angel." Minion looked childishly pleased with this self-appointed title.

Roxanne couldn't help but laugh. A hairy, robotic ape body with a fishbowl head wasn't the usual image used to represent guardian angels.

"Ok, I know. But one, I help him as much as I can with his plans. And try to talk him out of his 'less brilliant' ideas. Two, I do defend him and get him out of trouble when necessary. Three, it's my job to make sure he's taking care of himself, and believe me, that's about the hardest one of all. Also I was 'assigned' to him by design. Not unwillingly. There's a selection process… uh, a kind of ceremony…" He couldn't quite explain that and wasn't sure he should. "He is my friend. He has my loyalty and I have his for as long as… well, forever, I guess. At least, that's the nearest I can come to explaining it."

Roxanne found this very touching somehow. The two of them had had only each other to rely on for so long. They were both the only ones left of their kind and accepted each other unconditionally. She stopped walking and Minion stopped too, looking at her questioningly. "Minion, I'm so glad he does have you." She stood on tiptoe and pulled on his fuzzy arm to get him to lean down, then planted a kiss on the glassy bowl. "And I hope you'll be pleased with me being his friend from now on also."

Minion's face was a picture. He looked delighted and slightly stunned at the same time.

"Now, can we please go check on him again? And I think I'd better rest awhile too. I'm about ready to drop!" Something occurred to her. "Does every person on your planet have a 'minion' assigned to them?"

"Um… no." No more information was forthcoming.

_Okay, _she thought, sensing that Minion had clammed up. _That subject is definitely off limits._ She wondered why but didn't press on. She was too tired to ask many more questions anyway.

_I don't think I should tell her about that_, Minion mused. _Better leave it to him. I wonder she'll make of it_.

They came to a door which Minion opened quietly. It was a very large room, although small compared to warehouse-sized rooms, with a king-sized bed, a low legged bedside table, and a huge old-fashioned mahogany wardrobe. The bed was Japanese style covered in a stark, modern silk set – jet black. _Of course_, she thought. There was also a curious type of cot on a stand. It reminded her of a tanning bed, and it glowed blue. It was slightly U-shaped as though to keep the occupant from rolling off the sides. Megamind was lying on the glowing surface, unconscious and undressed beneath a silvery sheet. She walked over and watched him breathe. Gently she placed the back of her fingers on his cheek and kissed his forehead lightly. They crept back out the room.

"It looks like he has some swelling, Minion. Is that ok? But at least he seems comfortable."

"Yes, he almost seems to go into a coma. It probably looks odd to you. But by the time he wakes up, he'll be back to normal, swelling and all."

"Well, you're the expert so I'll trust your judgment. How long do you think he'll sleep?"

"Hard to say. The table scans him for damage and applies the light to areas that are most damaged. We set the light for certain wavelengths that help speed up the healing process. The fact that the whole thing was lit up… well, let's assume it's going to be awhile."

Roxanne yawed. She realized she ought to let someone know where she was. She knew her message box was probably full by this time, and the people close to her would be worried. Her boss answered halfway through the first ring.

"WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Dan, I'm fine. I'm… with Megamind. Can't tell you where. We needed to drop out for awhile, but I wanted to let you know I'm ok. We're both ok."

"Roxanne, can I send someone to get you or…"

"No, honestly. I couldn't be any safer than I am right here." She smiled at Minion. "When things settle down a little, I promise we'll show up again. And you're going to have the scoop of the century!"

"As long as you're sure. What the heck is going on with you two anyway? Is that guy…"

She hung up. She knew how he was and there was no point in continuing that conversation. He'd been told what he needed to know – she was fine and he was going to scoop the biggest news story of the year.

"What I wouldn't give for a shower and change of clothes. Any chance of that here, Minion?"

"Of course, Ms Ritchie! Evil lair may seem stark, but we do have all the modern conveniences!" He paused. The clothing might be a problem, but the boss had a robe he almost never used. He'd always preferred his silky cape over his pajamas. "Right this way."

He showed her where the shower was, pointed out the robe hanging behind the door, and left her alone. What to do about her own clothing…? She couldn't go home in Megamind's robe. That _would_ cause comments. Well, he'd launder the things she had on before. Hopefully that would be all right. They'd all returned covered in dust and smoke and smelling like the fountain at the square. After giving her what he hoped was ample time to shower and change, Minion returned to the bathroom. The door was open but Roxanne was nowhere to be found. With a puzzled look on his fishy little face, he began to search for her. Where had she gone? She wasn't on the couch in the main area of the lair. He'd just gone past there. Had she gotten lost? He looked in several rooms before quietly looking into Megamind's bedchamber again. His eyes opened wide to see Roxanne fast asleep on the bed, curled on her side toward Megamind. He snickered to himself. _I wish I could see his face when he wakes up!_


	6. Chapter 6

Regaining consciousness was gradual, like a bubble rising through syrup. But when he opened his eyes, he was fully awake and knew his regeneration was nearly complete. The few remnants of pain that remained were easily ignored. They'd soon be gone. The table was still lit, although just before he became aware of it, a small section of blue went out signaling that area was finished receiving treatment. He took a deep breath in and out, noting he could breathe without discomfort. He slowly flexed his feet, curled and uncurled his fingers, turned his head left, then right… and did a double take.

_Oh Lord, I've died and gone to heaven!_ He stared wide-eyed at Roxanne asleep on his bed a bit longer. _Wait… why is she there and I'm still over here. Oh no! I must have gone straight to hell. And this is my eternal punishment… so close and yet so far. Augh, unbearable torture!_

Another section of blue on the table turned off, and he realized he wasn't dead or dreaming. But he was undressed. _Oh, great… now what do I do. Stay asleep, Roxanne_, he wished silently. Crossing his fingers, he lifted his head from the table and saw a neatly folded pile of clothes at the feet of the blanket covering him and breathed a sigh of relief._ Good job, you fantastic fish! _Although the position he was in might be enviable in the future, he knew his relationship with Roxanne wasn't ready for this quite yet. Yet another blue bulb went out, and the room was nearly in complete darkness. He felt impatient to dress but wisely let the lights finish doing their job. While he waited, he looked again at her, still sleeping peacefully. _She stayed, just like she said... Is that my robe?_ The last section of blue finally went out and he sat up and got off the light table as quietly as a breeze, dressed faster than he figured he possibly could, and let out another deep breath.

_All right. Now what? _He felt he really ought to let Roxanne sleep as long she needed to, but walking out and leaving her there alone was more than he could force himself do. Plus if she awoke in this complete darkness, she might not know where she was. Pressing a button on the table's control panel, he relit a couple of the bulbs – enough to not bump into things in the room. Yes, that was really her… amazing. He wondered how long she'd been there and how long he'd been asleep himself. There were no windows to give any hint of the time of day or night. His holowatch was not on him either. No matter – what meant the most to him right now was in this room.

* * *

Roxanne stirred and stretched, eyes still closed. She was warm and comfortable, but she became aware that this bed and room seemed unfamiliar. Someone was touching her hand lightly. She opened her eyes. By the dim glow of the table she could see Megamind just beside her on the bed asleep. He must have been holding her hand but now in his sleep their hands were merely crossed. _I wonder when he got up from the table. He dressed too_. She was somewhat relieved. Could be very interesting… but it was too soon for that. She smiled with relief. _He does look back to normal, just like Minion said._ No high-collared villain outfit this time, she noted. He was dressed in something somewhat less tight and definitely less flashy, but still mostly black with a standing collar that was still very Megamind-ish. She gently squeezed his hand, and he woke immediately.

"There you are. Feeling better?"

"Yes, and I could ask you the same thing." He stroked the fingers of her hand with his thumb. "You stayed."

"I said I would…"

"Thank you," he smiled.

She grinned back at him and couldn't resist commenting slyly, "Nice bed you have here."

He chuckled at the comment as he released her hand and laced his fingers behind his head in a nonchalant manner, looking toward the ceiling._ What a stinker she can be!_ "Ah yes, custom made." He raised his eyebrows and looked sideways at her. "You like it?"

"Of course! It's very nice. Silk covering too. Impressive!"

"That's very good. I'm glad you approve," he said mildly. "Because you may be seeing more of it later…"

"Oh…!"

Suddenly a pillow whacked him across the face. Roxanne was laughing as she playfully pounced on his chest before he whipped the pillow away. He grabbed her and hugged her to him, laughing with her. "Hey, hey! easy on the invalid!"

"Invalid! I don't think so. Minion told me you'd be back to normal when you woke up. And from what I just heard, I think he's right."

"Can't blame a guy for hoping."

Still smiling, she laid her head on his chest. "Well… there's reason to hope…"

_I do not deserve this._ Hugging her tightly, he closed his eyes and tried to fix the feeling of her permanently in his memory.

* * *

Minion heard the chime sound that indicated the light table had finished its cycle and turned itself off. That should mean Megamind was awake. However with Roxanne also in the room, he wasn't about to go down there and open the door, as he usually would have. He stood cleaning the monitor screens and puzzling over what he should do. The second blue drink Megamind would need for regeneration was ready, but Minion did not want to interrupt… whatever was happening. He grabbed a passing brainbot and began polishing it absentmindedly with a slightly concerned expression on his face.

Before long, the pair walked into the main area of the lair, hand in hand. They had been laughing about something. Minion turned to them, suddenly feeling relieved.

"Here's your drink, sir! And Ms Ritchie, I laundered your clothes for you. I hope that's all right." He handed her her clothes, neatly folded.

"Minion, thank you, how thoughtful! I'll go change." Roxanne left them alone.

"Ahem, thank you for remembering my clothes too, Minion. That could have been… embarrassing."

"Oh. So…"

"No, no, nothing like that. Our Ms Ritchie is a lady after all."

"Well, the two of you looked so, um, pleased with each other when you walked in just now. I wasn't sure…"

He looked at Megamind's face and noted the half-closed eyes, faint smile, and far-away look in his eyes. "Yes, old friend. I couldn't be more pleased."

_Hoo boy! He's got it bad._ "Sir? Your drink?"

"Huh… Oh! Oh yes." He chugged it quickly and grimaced. "We really have to find some way to make that more palatable."

"Yeah, well, at least it works." Minion shrugged. "You always were a picky eater anyway."

"Oh really?" Roxanne commented interestedly as she arrived back in the room.

"No! That's not true." Megamind crossed his arms and frowned at Minion.

Minion smiled and nodded knowingly. "Oh yes it is. Ever since you were a child. We've tried every grocer and restaurant in the city practically. You wouldn't believe how particular he is, Ms Ritchie!"

"Hmph! And you know why too, don't forget that!" Megamind was put out at being called 'picky' but if this rather embarrassing trait had be made known, he was going to make sure the whole story came out.

Roxanne was trying not to giggle at the two of them. "Why? What's the reason?" She was curious about what could keep him from eating well. She figured he'd be famished after battles. She was certainly feeling very hungry herself by this time.

"Believe it or not, he has super-tasting!"

A giggle slipped out. "Really?"

"Yes. Yes! Go ahead and laugh. It's ridiculous. Super-tasting. What a stupid ability to have!" Megamind slumped in his executive chair and spun it around once. "Everything I eat tastes like the dirt it was grown in! I can even tell you where it was grown just by the flavor. Soil components, fertilizers…" He made a face.

Now Roxanne was actually interested. "You're kidding. That's terrible for you. Everything tastes like soil? How do you eat anything at all?"

"I can tell you he doesn't eat enough." Minion said. It always had bothered him, since he considered it his job to make sure Megamind was healthy as well as happy. "Too many processed foods."

"They taste the least like dirt!" He appealed to them both, hands out.

Roxanne was thinking quickly. "What about spicy dishes? Mexican? Chinese?"

"Yes, we tried that. Thai, Vietnamese, salty, sweet, sour, organic, you name it. Nothing seems to help much." Despite his teasing, Minion actually felt quite sorry for his friend's inability to enjoy meals.

"I do like coffee," Megamind pouted and turned the chair half away from them.

"Oh, I could so go for some coffee right now," Roxanne commented, feeling it might be time to change the subject and wondering what time of the day or night it was.

"I should have thought of that before. I'm on it!" Minion grabbed a holowatch from a shelf nearby. "Be back soon!" he called back to them as he headed down the hall to the secret entrance. He'd get some doughnuts too to soothe his boss's feelings.

Roxanne looked at Megamind sitting in his black leather chair. He wasn't thinking about her standing there. A brooding expression covered his face as if he were remembering things from long ago. She crossed to him and sat herself across his lap, draping her arms around his shoulders, brightening his expression immediately.

"Bad memories?" she asked softly.

"Never mind… I have plenty of those. It's time to replace them with better ones," he smiled at her.

"You know… I can see you don't especially like talking about this… but your 'unique' ability could be put to good use."

He frowned. "How do you figure?"

"I'm thinking of agricultural applications. Impoverished countries that need their soils amended to grow crops more effectively, analyzing fields for nutrient deficiencies, determining safety of foods, things like that."

"You have some very interesting ideas." He'd never before thought about using what he thought of as his disability for something practical. "But I'm hardly a farmer. I'll have to think about that." He appreciated that she was trying to be helpful.

"Also, I wondered if you've ever tried hydroponically grown food?"

"Hydro-ponic… water labor?" He analyzed the word he'd never heard before, recognizing the Greek roots.

"Yes, plants grown in water with nutrients added to it. No soil is used. I think NASA has researched it for use in space."

A look of wonder came over his face. "Really? That's worth looking into!" _It really bothers him about not being able to eat well and enjoy food_, she thought. Such an odd thing to have to suffer. She wondered how much it had to do with his slim build. She kissed his cheek and got up.

"Ok. So what time is it anyway?"

"Oh," he grabbed his own holowatch and looked at the time. "About 6:40am."

"Great, I'll have time for coffee and then I'm afraid I'm going to have to go to work." She smiled at him. "You'd better expect a lot of attention, hero. Also, I think you ought to get in contact with the mayor ASAP. A press conference is a very good idea, and I can help set that up. Um, and you might want to do something about the 'observatory' on the roof. If I was able to put two and two together, someone else might as well."

"You're right of course. I'll have the brainbots build something over it. You have no idea how shocked we were when you showed up here." He squinted at her, pretending to be suspicious. "You do seem uncommonly bright. Any idea what your IQ might be?"

She laughed. "Well, uncommonly nosy at least. But I've been tracking you down for a long time, you know. I had a vested interest, being the kidnap victim of choice."

"Yes, you certainly were," he stood up smiling and then paused thoughtfully. "'Were.'…Roxanne, I'm going to miss kidnapping you."

Before she could reply, Minion was back with coffee and doughnuts. They all toasted the new hero with cappuccinos, laughed too long over Megamind retelling how he'd had to play Bernard fighting with himself behind the cellar doors, and then he rushed Roxanne to her apartment in the invisible car so she could get ready for work. With a kiss and a smile, she promised she'd see him soon. _Can't be soon enough_, he was thinking as he watched her walk into the building.


	7. Chapter 7

The press conference was held within a few days, and the mayor was met with. He was surprised at some of the things Megamind had to say - his apology for Titan, offer of help toward the city, and some ideas he had about the prison system (knowing it from the inside) - and they parted with goodwill on both sides.

Things were happening so quickly it was hard to keep track of what was going on sometimes as the next few weeks flew past. Everyone wanted to see or meet the new celebrity, so offers and requests came in like a snowstorm. Minion and Roxanne both took on the role of secretary for fielding invitations and scheduling events. Megamind was also often called on to help the police with various situations and was developing a good reputation with the force, partly for his sense of humor and ability to make a dangerous situation seem like nothing more than a rock concert they were all starring in.

Megamind and Minion started redesigning and changing many of their more destructive devices to be useful. There was still a substantial arsenal of weapons at hand since they both felt it wouldn't be prudent to disarm everything. He had a feeling a super-villain would appear sooner or later. He looked forward to engaging in battles again and even cast his eyes beyond the city to see where other challenges might lie, but he was somewhat worried too. Try as they might, he and Roxanne had not been able to hide their relationship from the public. She was known to be the one person who could always get in contact with him. Photos accompanying headlines often showed the two of them. People absolutely loved the pair as much as Megamind's "zero to hero" turn around. Megamind was pleased people automatically put them together as a couple, but he knew this put Roxanne in harm's way. She would be a target for anyone who wanted to get to him. She however wasn't bothered by the attention at all, taking it all in stride and continuing to work hard at remaking his public image as well as covering the city's news.

They were seeing each other regularly now, sometimes using the holowatches to go out in disguise to avoid drawing crowds of photographers and autograph hounds, often going dancing in clubs which Megamind had a weakness for, or spending time at her apartment or the lair. They sought each other's company as a refuge more and more often and spent a lot of time talking and laughing. Minion stopped worrying about the times they would just disappear to get away from everything, but he also found he really looked forward to spending time with the two of them in the lair. They even took him with them dancing once. Roxanne laughed to herself the whole evening watching Minion disguised by a teenager hologram enjoy himself like a child.

Roxanne was aware that as they spent more time together, Megamind was becoming more serious and thoughtful and less dramatic around her at least. He certainly could still put on a good show for the public, knowing people expected and enjoyed the entertainment. For his part, Megamind found Roxanne's company profoundly relaxing. He felt comfortable being himself with her. Although he could have happily spent a lot more of their time romantically entwined, he was somewhat surprised that she refused to kiss him when they were in disguise. Despite his outward self-assurance, he was aware of how different he was from human men and still found it amazing that she would prefer him as he was.

One night at a club about a month after the Titan incident, dancing together had set them both in a passionate mood, and they found themselves in a back hallway, silently lost in each other's eyes. The chemistry practically crackled in the air and their touches felt like electric jolts. But just as he was anticipating losing himself in their kisses, she stopped him. Holding up his wrist, she turned the dial on the holowatch and on hers as well.

"I don't want to see anyone else…," she said softly as the holograms disappeared, then she caressed his face. "I just want…you." It was probably a good thing they were soon interrupted by another patron trying to find the restrooms, as Megamind found she had absolutely destroyed his resolve to be a gentleman. They left the club and opted for a walk in the park under the stars to cool off.

It was nearly two months following Megamind's change of allegiance that a significant meeting happened with the chief of police and Metro City's mayor. Luckily Roxanne asked to be present as well. The two men knew they had to confront Megamind about the issue at hand, and they'd put it off long enough. They opted to limit who attended this meeting due to how well his change was progressing. If they'd been more open, they both would have admitted they'd rather forget the whole thing, having found they actually liked the blue character now that he wasn't constantly menacing the city.

"We needed to contact you about the remains of Metro Man that had been turned in to the coroner."

"Oh yes?" He had a feeling he knew what they were about to say, since he and Minion had realized something significant when they boxed up the remains to send to the city morgue. At the time, they didn't know what to make of it and in the excitement of taking over the city, they simply put aside their questions for later but never got back to it due to everything that followed. When he and Roxanne met with Metro Man beneath the old school house, he'd put two and two together and knew eventually the authorities would wonder why he'd sent them a fake instead of Metro Man's remains.

"The skeleton that was turned in was a model. The bones had been cleaned, not damaged by the explosion, and were held together with pins. It couldn't have been Metro Man."

"Yes, I'm afraid that's right. Minion and I realized the same thing when we prepared it to be sent to you." He looked at Roxanne, the only other person who knew the truth about Metro Man.

She spoke up. "I knew about it too. And although we're not at liberty to explain any further than this, I feel I need to assure you that Megamind is not responsible for Metro Man's death." _Because he's not dead_, she wanted to add but kept silent. She was still angry with Metro Man. Although the authorities were puzzled and tried unsuccessfully to get more information from them, they finally accepted that this was a mystery Megamind was not going to reveal the answer to. Heroes were known to keep secrets, and Ms Ritchie was well respected as an honest reporter.

A couple days later Roxanne suggested they make a visit to the former hero turned musician. Megamind wondered what exactly she had in mind but agreed to go. It would be interesting to see what his old nemesis was up to now and what he made of the current news.

An electric guitar wailing like a cat being strangled assaulted their ears from behind the door under the schoolhouse as they knocked and stood waiting. The music stopped and the door opened to reveal 'Music Man', looking as scruffy as the last time they saw him here, wearing an old t-shirt and jeans and now sporting the beginnings of a potbelly as well.

"Wow! To what do I owe this visit?" he asked and stood aside so they could enter. "Congratula-"

Roxanne got to the point so fast, Megamind's jaw dropped. "You have to tell the police and the mayor you're still alive."

"Uhhh, no I don't. I'm not interested in being the city's defender anymore." He smiled and pointed at Megamind. "And from what I've seen, your boy here is doing just fine without me!" He slapped Megamind on the back. Mentally he noted the little guy was not quite as little as he once had been. Roxanne must be a good influence on him, he figured, not knowing about his recently improved and more palatable diet (NASA had been very willing to supply him with whatever hydroponic foods he wanted in exchange for certain technology only he possessed) and the extra workouts Minion added to his schedule to help him deal with the stress of his new responsibilities and heavier schedule. Added to his ability to generate or regenerate tissue quickly, he'd taken on a somewhat more muscular physique.

"Yes, you do. Even if you're not going to use your talents to help people anymore, you can at least make sure they know that Megamind isn't responsible for your death. Since you're not dead!"

No way, Metro Man was thinking. He figured rightly that he would lose the respect of the city officials, and his pride goaded him into thinking the police wouldn't be able to resist asking for his help again.

Roxanne had a pretty good idea of his line of thinking. "I figure the public doesn't need to know, but the authorities do. You owe it to us anyway. We were almost killed, and you never bothered to show up or help at all." Her anger was evident on her face now.

"It all turned out fine," he shrugged. He couldn't see why she was so mad.

"Yeah, thanks to Megamind, not you. And now he still has an unsolved 'murder' hanging over his head. _That's_ thanks to you," she added, "because you care more about your reputation than doing what's right. And by the way, they figured out the skeleton was a fake." She crossed her arms. "We can't hide you forever. Either you come forward on your own and own up like a man, or I'm just going to let them know where to find you to get their questions answered."

"Geesh! OK!" Metro Man turned to Megamind with a smirk and a wink. "Is she always like this?"

"Don't make her any angrier. You'll regret it," was all Megamind said, straight-faced. Metro Man stopped smiling.

"So. What's up with you two? I thought super-heroes weren't your thing," he asked Roxanne.

"Not super-heroes. Just you." She turned to Megamind and took his arm. "I'm ready to go." As they walked out, she looked back at Metro Man, who was opening and closing his mouth like a stunned fish. "You have three days to work up your courage and do what's right. I don't care how - write a letter if you want."

When they got in the car, Megamind turned to look at the lovely woman beside him. "You know, you look harmless. But… remind me not to make you angry!" he laughed. "That was brutal!" If he'd been hoping to make her smile at least a little, he failed. She still looked upset, staring out the window, and even seemed as if she hadn't heard him. "Roxanne… what's wrong?"


	8. Chapter 8

Her expression changed from anger to sadness and still not looking at him she requested to go home. Not sure which place she wanted to return to, her own place or the lair, he decided he'd take her back to her apartment. Upon arriving they rode the elevator up in silence with Megamind stealing glances at her now and then, but not until the door was closed and Roxanne had sat down on the couch did he ask again what was wrong.

"What is it? Did I say something to upset you?"

"No! Not you," she answered. "It's… oh, this is stupid. It makes me so mad that I even let this bother me!"

"Music Man," he cringed slightly at the asinine name.

"Yes."

"Any idea _why_ he bothers you so much?" He asked, hoping it was not what he feared most – that Roxanne really did have unresolved feelings for the old hero.

"Yeah… I guess because he reminds me of my dad," she answered quietly, frowning to herself.

_Whoa. That's not what I expected to hear._ This didn't make a lot of sense to him yet but Megamind figured if he waited, she would explain further, so he kept quiet.

Unconsciously Roxanne grabbed a pillow and wrapped her arms around it unhappily with a big sigh. "My dad… left us. When I was ten. He was this great guy that everybody thought the world of. Handsome, smiling, joking. He could make anybody feel like somebody. He was even his boss's favorite. I remember him getting promoted at work, and my mom was so proud of him. Then one day he just… decided he didn't want us anymore. Or something. He just left. Mom was so broken up. She was never the same again. I can remember some people used to look at her like _she_ must have done something wrong for him to have left." Roxanne had tears in her eyes now. "When I was a kid I used to dream of finding him and convincing him to come back. When I got older I figured I'd find him and tell him off. But I never did locate him. Then he didn't even come back for her funeral." She finally looked at Megamind as though remembering she was telling the story to him. "She had cancer and passed away just before I graduated from college. I thought for sure he'd at least come to the funeral, but he didn't…. How could he do that?" she asked in a small voice. "He left. Didn't we mean anything to him?"

_Oh. _Megamind felt a helplessness that was new to him and discomfiting._ I am way over my head here._ A broken heart wasn't something you could fix and there was no villain to blast to pieces (although finding Roxanne's father and blasting him at least a little sounded very satisfying right now), but this was the most vulnerable he'd ever seen her. He carefully took the pillow from her grasp and held her hands.

"I… I don't know what to say. I don't understand how someone could choose to leave their family like that."

Roxanne wiped her tears away on the back of her hand. "Weren't ever angry at your parents? I mean for sending you out into the unknown."

"No," he said with surprise. "They were trying to save my life."

"Well, at least you have good memories of them. Minion told me you do remember them."

"Yes, I can see their faces very clearly. I wish I had had a chance to know them better, but I'm not angry at them." A sudden unrelated thought popped into his head. _I have my mother's eyes_. "Listen, when you described your dad, you really described Metro Ma-, er, Music Man. Pretty much to a T. But… neither one of them or the choice they made is a reflection on you, sweetheart."

She looked at him, his green eyes gazing earnestly down at her, and thought about how different he was than the other men she'd had to rely on in her life so far. Differences beyond his skin tone being what he once called 'a popular primary color'. Could she trust him? She wanted to. _He's never called me sweetheart before_.

Suddenly Megamind seemed to come to a decision. 'There's something I need to tell you." He looked to Roxanne as though he was working up his courage. _This is probably too impulsive. _"Minion has… imparted some information to me that I think you should know as well. Since it involves you." Roxanne waited, not at all sure what he was going to tell her. "If you… decide you want me, there's no reason to ever fear I would leave you… I couldn't."

"What do you mean?"

He looked at her hands in his and thought about how much he loved to hold her hand as they walked in the park. _This is the turning point_, he thought, _and I am scared_. He struggled to find the right way to explain. "On my world, when two people are… united… they form a link that lasts a lifetime. There is no divorce, no break-ups, no leaving. The link goes beyond physically uniting. Usually when one spouse dies, the other person's death follows within a few days."

"Wait, how does Minion know this? He told me he was only the equivalent of a child when you both came to earth. Surely he wouldn't have known such intimate details so young."

Megmaind took a deep breath. Now that he'd started explaining, it was time to tell the rest. "Minion's kind have something called 'collective memory'. He carries all the collected memories of his species from… well, I don't even know how far back. In other words, he's able to access memories that aren't even his. And his species has been paired with mine for many hundreds of years. It's kind of like accessing a library."

"He said not everyone is paired with a minion, but he wouldn't tell me why."

"I know… he wasn't sure he should explain then or if you would need to know, but I think I should tell you now." _Since you're the one I want._ He really wasn't sure how much this would matter to Roxanne. It certainly didn't matter much to him anymore, but she sometimes gave more importance to things than he did. "Only the rulers of our world were paired with minions. The collective memory the minion holds helps the ruling person or family quite a lot. But since there's nothing left of my world…"

"So… you're telling me you would have been the next ruler?"

"Barring an overthrow of my family or some sort of… uh, assassination… or anything like that."

Roxanne's mouth was open slightly. The look in her eyes showed her thoughts were far away. _First he's talking about sex and now he's saying he's an emperor or something. How did we get to this?_

He had misgivings. _Maybe this wasn't the right time after all._

"But I'm human. Would the it even be the same?"

"I don't know. Minion doesn't either," he admitted. He'd wondered the same thing as well as how strong their link would be if she agreed to accept him. And the questions he had about offspring were more than he could face yet.

Slowly she relaxed again and focused on his handsome blue face. "Well, as long as it makes no difference to you, it really doesn't matter to me whether you're a king or a pauper. You're still you," she said. "Although I admit I find it pretty amazing. And, uh, hard to take in. How long have you known this about yourself? Who you are?"

"Um, well… for a long time."

"And as far as the rest," she stopped. "Megamind… it's a lot to think about." She looked tired. It had been a fairly emotionally draining afternoon.

"I know, I know. Maybe this is too much at once." He noted her tiredness and stroked hair away from her temple.

"No, no, I just need some time to… to think about it. But while I do, I really want _you_ to know something." She thought about all they had been through, from his villain days to the whirlwind of recent changes and time they'd spent together. "…I do love you. So much more than I ever thought I could."

He felt like his heart would burst. "Roxanne, there's nothing I wanted to hear more. You know I love you so much." He kissed her, and they seemed to melt into each other's arms. He was willing to wait and see what she would decide, but if she refused him, he thought he would probably die anyway.

* * *

Minion could hear voices through the gym door. It almost sounded like an argument, which would be very unlike the pair. Unable to resist, he leaned closer to eavesdrop, just for a second. He could hear Megamind speaking very patiently to Roxanne.

"Grasp it firmly… You're holding it like it's going to bite you."

"Stop being so pushy! I've never handled one of these before…"

"Oh for Pete's sake! Will you just hold it heeere… and then squeeze your finger heeere…"

"You know, you're really getting annoying. I don't know if I'm ready for this yet." Pause. "What does this part do anyway?"

"Yes, you are ready. Never mind that part. Just do it like I showed you. It won't hurt you, I promise." Minion's eyes were as huge as saucers as he listened outside the door. There was an unidentifiable sound and the noise of something falling and then, "You have to at least try to..."

"I am trying! You're not helping very much! How do you aim it?"

Minion pushed the door open slowly, his fishy mouth hanging open. Megamind and Roxanne looked up at him. Roxanne was holding a laser gun away from her like she was afraid of it while Megamind stood behind her trying to show her how to use it. One of the backboards in the gym had lost it's hoop to a stray shot. Megamind smiled at Minion.

"Oh! There you are Minion. I'm trying to help Roxanne learn to defend herself. But," he winked at his sidekick, "I'm afraid we were right. Females naturally just aren't very good at this sort of thing." He chuckled and shook his head. "I haven't even been able to get her to…"

Suddenly Roxanne turned and blasted a hole just left of center on the concrete target on the far wall. She turned back to Megamind with a dangerous glint in her eyes, about to let loose a nasty comeback.

"YES! I knew it!" Megamind's face was triumphant looking at the target. Then he noticed Roxanne. He held up his hands in defense. "Ok! Ok! Hold on! I said that on purpose to make you angry, but I didn't mean it!"

She put her free hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes at him. "Well it worked! Why were you trying to make me angry?"

"Because," he chortled, "I had a feeling if you were angry enough, you'd forget about being afraid of it and your natural instincts would take over. And I was right!" He gave her a squeeze around the shoulders. "Don't worry! You're doing fine. But… let's hope we aren't involved in a shoot-out anytime soon."

"Yes, let's hope it doesn't come to that. And if I'm going to be fine, I'm done practicing. I don't think I'll ever get used to using one of these." She looked at the laser distastefully and held it out to him.

"No, no, you still need to train. The more you do, the more you'll be comfortable with it and be able to react quickly without over-thinking." He wasn't laughing anymore. "I'm serious about this. I'll always come to your rescue, but it would help my constant worrying if you were at least familiar with a weapon. I'm practically getting an ulcer!"

"Oh, could you be any more dramatic? You don't have an ulcer. Metro Man never showed me how to use a weapon," she added, still wishing she could find some argument against the need to be armed. She really was a little afraid of using any kind of gun.

"Yeah well, he never needed to for one thing. He knew I wouldn't hurt you. Plus if you think I have a big head, just consider his. I doubt his ego could bear having the damsel in distress helping out in her own rescue. He'd rather you remain helpless – made him look better." She never would have thought of it that way, but she knew he was right. Megamind knew his opposition.

"However," he continued, "we now have a situation where we don't know the extent of the nastiness of any villain or villains that may show up and what they may do to you. Our relationship is pretty well known by now, which is great except that it makes you a target." He paused and looked at her with devotion in his green eyes, but she could see his fears displayed there as plain as day too. "Please try."

"Ok," she finally said. She turned to face the target and he put his arms around her and helped her line up her sights again, his chin at her ear. She added, "But you owe me."

She heard his low throaty chuckle in her ear and knew he was biting his lip in that way she couldn't resist. He murmured, "I can't wait to pay up…"


	9. Chapter 9

"I don't like this."

"Relax! You should be looking forward to it! I know I'm excited!" She had no doubts about how it would turn out.

"And you'll stay in the car, like I told you?"

She sighed, "Yes, yes… as long as I can get the shots I need." She checked the enormous lens on the camera that hung from her neck. "This'll knock their socks off at work!" She couldn't wait to show up with photos of the first battle between Metro City's popular blue hero and the newest villain.

Megamind couldn't help but think she wasn't taking this seriously enough. He was more worried than excited although he didn't really want Roxanne to know it. A new villain had finally appeared, calling Megamind out. It was time for them to get acquainted was all he'd said in a voice-only message over the air. Whoever this man was (definitely male) had an odd, slow, lisping way of speaking. He sounded… too quiet, almost weak, Megamind had thought as he sat in his chair at the lair listening to the recording for a third time, brows drawn together. He looked at Minion standing nearby. His fishy companion shrugged his shoulders, grinned, and gave a thumbs-up sign. Apparently he thought the man sounded wimpy too. But Megamind had a bad feeling about it all he couldn't shake, like sensing someone is sneaking up on you from behind. It didn't help that Roxanne had been there listening to the message too and immediately insisted on coming along.

"No way!"

"What! Why not?"

"Well," he thought fast. Maybe some flattery would help him get his way. It had worked before. Sort of – it often helped her get what she wanted too. "…because… you're too distracting." Taking her hand he'd pulled her over closer to the chair until he could put his hands on her hips and set her in his lap. "I mean, you don't want me to be thinking about _you_ when I should be focusing all my attention on the villain… right?" She put her head on one side and smiled at him. It was hard at times like this to remember who was supposed to be trying to get their way. The closer her proximity, the more difficult it was to keep his mind on what he was supposed to be accomplishing. Really all he could think was that she could have whatever she wanted.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she said kissing his cerulean forehead above his lovesick, puppy dog eyes. "And everywhere…" she granted him a lingering kiss on the mouth and ended with a little nibble on his lower lip. A small groan barely escaped his lips as they parted. "I'm coming with you."

"Ok…" he agreed faintly, eyes still closed. Then they popped open. "But you have to stay in the invisible car!"

Eventually, that was what they agreed on. Roxanne wanted photographs of the whole thing and didn't think she could get good angles from the car. But Megamind knew she had good telephoto lenses for her camera and held firm. He would park close enough for her to see what was happening, get some photographs, but that was it.

When she finally conceded, he slouched in the chair as though it had taken a Herculean effort to come to an agreement with her. "You're almost more trouble than you're worth, Ms Ritchie! What am I going to do with you?"

Roxanne put a finger to her mouth and looked toward the ceiling thoughtfully, "I have some ideas…"

"Stop that…" he spun the chair around, making her laugh and hold onto him tighter. "My, my, look at that! I've found a definitive positive correlation between the speed of the chair spinning and how tightly you hang on! How very interesting!" They laughed and twirled while Minion looked on smiling and shaking his head. He loved seeing them happy together.

Now they'd arrived at the place chosen by the unknown, lisping stranger. It was an odd location, a street corner in an old, empty, industrialized part of town, as though the man didn't want to make too much of a spectacle. Mostly unkempt brick buildings with broken windows surrounded them. Certainly not Megamind's style of villainy, Roxanne mused in the car alone. He would have announced his presence with a light show, blaring something by AC/DC, and a roll of "evil laughter", probably right downtown. She giggled to herself. _I kind of miss that. _

Megamind and Minion had gone ahead in a roundabout way to the meeting place to avoid drawing attention to the invisible car parked at the corner. She didn't see him yet, but as she lifted the camera to her eye Megamind suddenly seemed to appear alone, facing a corner of a building about not far away. Minion must be on standby near at hand. She couldn't hear anything, which was frustrating, but she could see he was talking, his arms folded and looking as though he was bored with the whole thing. Once he gestured around. A man who seemed to slide out of the shadow of the side street was facing him now. He was tall but slender, built like a runner. He was wearing the usual type of clingy super-suit, something that was silvery but greenish brown at the same time with a tight hood that covered his head except the face. The man moved his head in a strange way, sometimes holding it high and then lowering his chin down and forward. _My gosh, that almost looks like… _She focused the camera on the strange man and took several photos.

* * *

Megamind spotted the man in the shadows at the corner. He was oddly difficult to see. "You might as well come out and get my autograph, since you brought me all the way down here for apparently… nothing." He stood with his arms folded, annoyed at way the man seemed to be hiding from him. The man moved into the light then, head down and forward. His eyes were focused solely on Megamind.

"So, do you want me to sign your hood? Whom should I make it out to?"

The man smiled a tight smile that didn't reach his eyes at all and laughed a hissing sort of sound between his teeth. _Definitely creepy, _Megamind thought.

"You can call me Ssnake." His voice was as weak in person as it had sounded over the air, the lisp very pronounced.

Megamind rolled his eyes. "Obviously. And what do you want, Snake? A few tips on making a better show of evilness and villainy? You might have chosen a more public viewing place to start with."

"I don't work that way. Your flash and dash sstyle doesn't ssuit my kind." He raised his head again. "I have sstudied you, Megamind. You're a very impresssive alien. Sso intelligent. I'm here to make you an offer. A hero needss a villain. I'm willing to take up that role."

"From experience, I don't recommend it. Unless you enjoy being thrashed and humiliated frequently."

"Oh… but you were never humiliated, Megamind. That was the besst thing about watching you. You ssimply… retired and bided your time to sstrike again. That'ss a game I know how to play."

That was it. The crux of the whole matter was – he just didn't know how much of this was a game. Was this man really willing to play the fairly harmless game he once reveled in for kicks, fame, and infamy with Metro Man or did he have truly sinister intentions at heart? He certainly didn't trust his overt attempts to be complimentary, and the longer he listened to this drabble the more annoyed he became. But he refused to show it.

"Not interested. Now where should I sign? I have an appointment to go get my head waxed." His face radiated gentle amusement at the man and the whole situation.

"You _need_ a villain. It'ss your whole 'raisson d'etre'. And now you have one. You _are_ interessted, whether you know it or not. You will be fasscinated even."

_Is he trying to hypnotize me or convince me_? Before he could answer, Snake dropped a bomb as quietly as a drop of water in a still pool.

"How iss Roxxanne? …I ussed to date her too, you know."

Megamind's face went blank. _Not._ "She will not be part of this game."

Snake hissed his nasty, sibilant laugh from between his teeth again. "Of coursse she will. She might even like it… She alwayss wass very…"

Quick as a wink, Megamind pulled the dehydration gun and fired on him. The ray seemed to absorb into the silvery green suit. Nothing happened except Snake let out a long hissing sound as he looked down at his strange outfit.

"Very good…" he said slowly. "Now we both know. That won't work on me." He lowered his head again. "And one other thing you will not be able to usse…" He turned and raised his palms toward the street, shooting two yellow streams of liquid directly at the invisible car. The spray briefly revealed part of its form, and it burst into flames. Then it exploded.


	10. Chapter 10

He couldn't remember yelling Roxanne's name or running toward the vehicle. But suddenly he was beside it, about to leap into the inferno when he was jerked swiftly backward. He landed hard on the pavement. "No…" he croaked hoarsely as the heat singed his skin. Minion stood behind him, holding his cape to stop him from diving forward into the flames again.

They stared at the fireball that had been the invisible car. The roar of it and the pounding of his blood in his ears kept him from hearing a small but important sound. He wasn't aware of the hand on his arm or Minion's larger ones pulling him back from the heat of the burning wreckage. Only then, when Roxanne could place herself in front of him, her hands on either side of his jaw, could he begin to hear her. Her voice sounded like an echo coming across a far distance.

"I'm here! I'm ok."

Still stunned, he stared at her, unable to comprehend.

"Megamind! I'm right here! I wasn't in the car." Her echoing voice sounded louder now. She shook his shoulders slightly, and he realized her eyes were large and frightened. In a daze he reached up and touched her face and then pulled her down to him and wrapped himself around her as completely as he could. "Oh God…" he choked out in a strangled voice against her neck.

They lost track of how long they sat there in the street with Minion's bulky form standing guard over them, but Roxanne's hip was sore from contact with the hard ground when they roused themselves enough to stand up, and it was starting to get dark. Snake had slithered away long ago. The car continued to burn a little, but brainbots arrived to extinguish it and then began to haul the pieces back to the lair.

"I'm afraid it's a write off," Roxanne commented.

Minion waved his hand as though it were of no consequence. "We'll just build another one, Ms Ritchie. The important thing is…"

Megamind turned to her and blinked in surprise. "Who cares about the damn car!" he practically shouted. Pausing, he added more calmly, "I thought you were dead."

She cringed. "I know. I'm sorry. I couldn't get a good view of the guy's face… so I got out and snuck down the side alley over there." She was half afraid he'd yell at her again.

"And I told you to stay in the car," he said mostly to himself, shaking his head. "Next time I ask you to do something… please feel free to not listen to me again. Your instincts saved you this time, not me."

She frowned to herself and thought that seemed like an odd thing for him to say – very uncharacteristic. He seemed deflated and dazed. She felt a twinge of misgiving about making him let her come along.

"What did he say to you? Who was he?"

"Said his name is Snake. And," he looked at her thoughtfully, "he said he knows you."

* * *

Back at the lair, Megamind took no interest in Roxanne and Minion's attempts to engage him in analyzing the confrontation with Snake or plans to rebuild the invisible car. He looked totally depressed sitting slumped in his favorite chair. He kept watching Roxanne with such sadness, she finally went and stood before him and asked what was the matter. _Are those tears in his eyes?_ He wrapped his arms around her waist and bumped his head against her stomach as she stood looking down with concern. His voice was muffled against her shirt. "I don't know if I can do this…" he said in a barely audible voice.

Shocked, she gently but firmly pushed his head back to look into his eyes. "What are you talking about? Of course you can! You're Megamind!"

"Roxanne… for so long no one expected anything of me. If I screwed up, it didn't matter. When I was the villain, people wanted me to lose. Now… they suddenly expect me to get everything right? I'm not Metro Man. I'm not indestructible and neither are you. What if I fail? I had no idea that… Snake person could do any of that. I was totally caught off guard. Unprepared."

"This is not the guy I know talking right now. What's going on here?"

"I don't want you to die because of me." _How can I ask you to always live in danger? How can I live without you?_

She took his hand and pulled him to his feet, guiding him along the corridor busy with brainbots zooming around performing various tasks for Minion who had decided to start reconstruction of the car without Megamind. Minion wasn't sure what was happening to his boss, but he felt pretty certain Roxanne was the one who could set him right. He glanced at them walking away. They reached his bedchamber, and she pulled him inside and closed the door.

"Ok, that's better." It was quiet in the dim room. "Is this about us?"

"Yes. And no. How could I possibly ask you to be mine and live like this?"

"Look, Romeo. I've already decided," she said in a firm voice. "I do want you. I've just been… waiting for the right time for things to… progress naturally. If you know what I mean."

The barest of smiles pulled at his lips. "Really?"

It wasn't the response she expected. Here they were in his bedroom, she just said she was willing, and he was hardly even acting happy about it_. Ok, mister, you asked for it_. She slapped his face hard.

"OW! What was that for?"

"SNAP out of it! The Megamind I know doesn't cower and slink off to lick his wounds. He doesn't worry about making sure everything is perfect. He screws up and laughs about it and starts over! And after what I just said, I half expected you to throw me on the bed and start this 'linking' thing you told me about!"

He chuckled weakly, rubbing his cheek. "Ok, the thought was starting to cross my mind."

"Look, I know this is a dangerous business. I – know – you. My goofy, brave, always tries his heart out, bigheaded, blue hero! If I wanted a safe, sane life of boringness, would I be here now?" He smiled wider. "Megamind… wherever you're going - whatever happens - take me with you. I don't expect you to be perfect. I don't even _want_ you to be perfect or to do everything right. If I wanted that I'd be with you-know-who. BORing! I expect you to be _you_. That's the thrill! And if we're going to go down… let's at least go down in style, huh?"

She stopped and watched as the spark seemed to come back into his eyes. _Finally!_ She thought. _If I'd been more observant, I would have noticed this was happening sooner._

"Goofy?"

"Yeah, and don't forget bigheaded."

He raised his eyebrows haughtily. "I'll have you know I'm _still_ the Incredibly Handsome Genius and Master of –"

She pulled him quickly to her with a hand at the back of his neck and kissed him roughly, this time getting the kind of response she hoped for. _Yeah, he's definitely coming around_. Slowly he was backing her up to the bed, his kisses becoming more passionate. His hands were beginning to explore places he hadn't as yet let himself go when unfortunately the door suddenly flew open and Minion stood there.

"OH! SORRY! Sorry! I – it's just – there's another message from Snake!"

With a growl, Megamind disentangled himself from Roxanne, who was feeling a little weak in the knees and disappointed at the untimely interruption, and taking her hand led them back along the hallway to the bank of monitors. "I'll kill him just for this…" he muttered, glowering as they walked along. Roxanne squeezed his hand and winked at Minion. If an alien fish could blush, she could've sworn he just did.

* * *

Snake's message was all gloating and hot air delivered in his weird, hissing lisp. Megamind suspected it had been recorded before they even met that afternoon. He gave no details of the event in it. Pre-recording indicated he was very sure of himself.

"Yech! That guy gives me the willies!" Minion said with a shudder.

Megamind stood listening to the message with his arms folded casually, watching as Roxanne downloaded the digital photos she had taken before the explosion into the computer. He kept getting distracted by the way she would push her hair back behind her ear. _So close…_

"Ok, here he is."

"Nice shots, Ms Ritchie! I especially like the angle you used to capture his expression. Or lack of it really. Oo! Look at this one with the two of them in it! The light is perfect. That's really art! Sir, you look very regal in this one! Maybe we should blow it up and get it framed!"

"Alright, Minion! Let's focus here!" _I do look rather regal in that photo... _"Ok, so do you know him?"

Roxanne took a deep breath. "Well, I'm afraid maybe I do. That's partly why I got out of the car to get a better look. It looks like Norval Felger, a guy I went to college with! I haven't seen him since we graduated though, so I'm not really sure. Plus with the extras – the suit and all – he looks different."

"What did he major in? Herpetology?"

"No, physics."

_Great. Ok, I'm good with physics._ "And, ah, did you possibly date him?"

She looked offended at the suggestion. "Did he say that? Ugh, no. Well, wait. Yes, I did go out with him once. It was a sympathy date."

"A… sympathy date?" He wasn't sure what that was.

"Yeah, you know. I felt sorry for him. He was this strange, quiet guy with almost no friends. Always in the physics lab alone. He had the lisp then too but not as bad as now. He asked me out a few times, so finally I just said 'yes' once so he wouldn't feel so bad about being rejected all the time." She hadn't thought of him as evil back then, just nerdy and backward. _Why do I always attract these hero/villain types?_

"You certainly attract some unusual personality types, Roxanne," Megamind commented, echoing her thoughts. "Present company included, I might add." He smirked.

Minion snorted. "That goes without saying…"

Megamind shot him a glare. "What else can you tell me about him?"

"Um, not much. Like I said I didn't really know him very well. Why the snake thing is what I'm wondering? I mean, ok, the lisp sounds kind of hissy, but that's hardly enough on base a whole character study on."

"What I want to know is how he knew the invisible car was there." Minion pondered aloud.

"Most likely infrared sensing." Megamind had puzzled over that while they sat in the street. "Like a snake," he added sarcastically.

"That would explain why he wanted to meet in such an empty place too, wouldn't it. Less interference from other warm bodies?" Roxanne was a quick study. "Oh! I think he was a runner too. I remember seeing him jog past my dorm all the time…" A lightbulb went on in her head. "Oh crap."

Megamind nodded. "Yep… stalker." She must have been more naïve back then, he thought. Didn't suspect the guy jogging by all the time wasn't just out for exercise. He wondered if the stalking had continued after college, even to now. From the look on Roxanne's face, she was wondering the same thing. "Could I offer you a place to stay? Here, I mean?"

She smiled at him. "Tempting… for a lot of reasons, but I'm not going to let this weirdo force me to go into hiding. I still have work, news to cover, appointments to keep." She could see Megamind was already thinking of ways he could keep a closer eye on her. "I may be stopping in more often though."

"Well, you won't hear me complaining! And if you'll allow it, I have some helpful devices I could place in your apartment, at work, even on your person."

"Besides your hands?"

"How about including my hands?"

Minion cleared his throat. "Maybe you two need to go back to the gym and do some more 'training'."

"Excellent idea, Minion!"

Roxanne laughed. "It is, but do you know what time it is? I've got to go home. Work tomorrow, bright and early! And I can't wait to show off these photos!" She was already at work in her mind, planning out the story. Megamind scowled at her exemplary dedication to her job. Darnit.


	11. Chapter 11

"Metallica tops Ozzy."

"AC/DC, still my all-time favorite."

Pause.

"Do you think he knew she wasn't in the car?"

Megamind and Minion were busily rebuilding their vehicle as well as preparing as expediently as possible for the plan Megamind had contrived to deal with Snake. Metallica played at a reasonable volume in the background, sometimes drowned out by the sounds of tools and welding equipment. They often chatted amiably to each other as they worked, each one used to the other voicing random thoughts and questions. It was a pattern they'd begun long ago in their early days in the penitentiary. Brainbots purred past on small errands of their own.

"I don't know," Megamind answered, sitting back from the panel he'd been drilling. "I would hope so. Assuming he's using some kind of heat-detecting lenses or device, he might have seen her exiting the vehicle or even noticed she was in the alley. If he's been stalking her and has feelings for her, we can at least hope he won't intentionally harm her." He sighed and began drilling again. He had yet to get to the lab to try creating some infrared sensing equipment himself. Snake's use of it had caused him to wonder a few things about the holowatch disguises.

"Did you get the bugs placed?"

"Yeah. Finished that yesterday."

"What's she got?"

"I did the apartment, her desk at work, and the microphone she uses for reports. She has the holowatch, although that's too obvious of course, and another one or two I won't mention."

Minion stopped welding and raised the face shield. His eyes were mischievous. "Oh really? How fun was that to place 'on her person'?" He giggled.

"Now, now, Minion! You won't get me to kiss and tell," he responded loftily. Then he bit his lip and murmured to himself with a wicked little smile, "It was fun though…"

"I heard that!"

They worked awhile longer in silence.

"What's it like back on our planet, Minion?"

Minion grunted. "That's a vague question. What's what like? The weather? I haven't been back in awhile, you know."

"Oh, you're hilarious." He paused and tried again. "Alright, I mean what was sex like for them?"

Something on the other side of the vehicle make a loud clanging noise as it bounced off the concrete floor. "Could you give me a little warning? I almost cut off my foot over here!"

"Well, excuse me! I think this is information I might need to know!" He waved the drill expansively. "That's in your job description."

"Isn't it more relevant how it's done here? And as far as that goes, you've seen as much television as I have, sir."

"You can't trust TV for important information, you know that," he answered scathingly. Then on a more thoughtful note, "We– I– have lived a pretty sheltered life in a lot of respects, Minion. I've grown up here and made my way here, but I'm still… different from everyone else." He sighed, unable to bring himself to put into words the extent of his questions. He laid down the drill and simply said, "I don't want to let her down."

As much as it pained Minion's finer sensibilities to discuss this private subject, he relented when he heard the uncertain tone of his friend's voice. And, yes, it was his job after all. He thought awhile, looking within himself for the knowledge he needed to share.

"There was no dating on our world."

"What? You're kidding."

"Nope. No courting, dating, nothing like that. And no breakups either, which I already told you. Couples were paired according to their compatibility and… uh, and they got on with it. Sometimes individuals chose their own mate, sometimes not. Your parents would've chosen yours."

"Get out of town…" That sounded terrible. It was one bullet he was relieved to have dodged. A sobering thought occurred to him. "Had they already chosen someone for me?"

"No, that happens on day 10. Who knew a black hole could have such good timing! You might've arrived here with somebody a lot different than me." Minion thought some more and reported, "The, uh, big event was not such a big deal to them either. Seems to have been regarded rather scientifically." He grimaced. "Not much romance back on the home planet, sir." Minion felt a little disappointed knowing that. Once they were reformed from a life of evil, he'd settled down happily to watch the growing relationship between his best friend and Roxanne, whom he genuinely loved too. He recognized he was a diehard romantic at heart.

"Well, that's… surprising." Megamind was perplexed at how he could reconcile the feelings he had with this new information. Apparently it wasn't a physical limitation that reduced the atmosphere of romantic interactions between his people but a cultural influence. Or was the amorous reaction he had with Roxanne not actually as strong as earthly men experienced? To think it could be any more intense was almost unbelievable. Sometimes he thought his heart would actually explode in his chest and his legs melt off. His dismissed the idea and picked up a blowtorch, pulling down his goggles.

"I don't think you need to worry, sir. For one thing, Ms Ritchie always seems very pleased to be with you. She hasn't expressed any dissatisfaction with… anything, has she?"

Megamind thought back and admitted, "No, she hasn't."

"Well, I think she's very lucky." Megamind looked over and smiled at his kind little friend in the bowl and thought, _not as lucky as I am_. "Plus," Minion offered. "You always have had a thoughtful streak about you – even in your young and evil days." He pulled down his face shield again. "As far as I can see, that seems to make all the difference in the pleasure of these, uh, interactions."

"Thoughtfulness," Megamind muttered to himself. _Keep that in mind._

Just over the sound of the blowtorch, he heard Minion speculate aloud, "I wonder if she'd like to have a wedding someday?"

Instantly he shut the tool off and sat staring soberly. How could he not have thought of that? "Of course," he declared aloud. "What time is it? I have to call her." He reached for his cell phone.

"3 a.m. Not a good idea."

"No." He sat pondering a minute longer. "I have a better idea."

* * *

Roxanne woke unhurriedly. She stretched and yawned and tumbled out of bed to the adjacent bathroom. It was her day off work, and she was planning to spend it at the lair working on the problem of Snake with her two favorite men. Well, man and fish. She smiled to herself. _I wonder what else the day will bring. _She just never knew for sure anymore what would be happening while she was with Megamind, but she found she enjoyed the variety and excitement. _Never a dull moment!_

Still bleary-eyed, she fumbled and pulled on her robe as she made her way through the living room, drawn to the kitchen by the smell of the programmable coffee maker and a cup of joe ready for her. She wasn't aware of tiny, beady eyes regarding her blindly from under the couch.

The sunlight streaming in was warm. It would be a beautiful day. Fresh air blew gently through the French doors leading onto the balcony. _Fresh air? _She turned to look at the doors, which she had not opened herself.

There on the balcony sat an intimate, round table for two covered with a white tablecloth, a vase of roses, coffee and a plate of cheese Danish, which she loved. Sitting casually at it was her blue hero, watching her with an amused smile. Happily surprised, she walked out and stood next to his chair in the morning brightness. He picked up her hands and kissed her fingertips, then looked up at her.

"Would you like to get married?"

"Oh, have you decided not to put the cart before the horse after all?"

"Huh?"

She giggled. "Never mind." She stroked his forehead down to his jaw. "Yes… I would love to marry you."

He jumped up so quickly to embrace her he nearly knocked over the table.

* * *

They decided it would suit them both to make it a quiet affair and quick. In fact, as Megamind suggested, it might as well be that day as any. Roxanne couldn't think of a reason why not. She was getting used to the idea that the life she'd chosen was a life of flying by the seat of her pants. Despite being amused by Megamind's tendency to make his work into a theatrical production, she didn't want a huge wedding surrounded by paparazzi. Neither had family to contact except Minion, and friends they could invite to celebrate with them later. Hopefully this way they could also avoid the media turning it into an out of control circus. Being intimately familiar with villainous ways, Roxanne also was aware Snake could be relied on to disrupt such an event. The less time he was given to plan, the better.

A phone call confirmed the surprised but accommodating mayor would arrange to waive the mandatory waiting period for the license. He also agreed to the honor of acting as the second mandatory witness besides Minion. A few more calls arranged various things to their liking including an invite to one special guest. They would all meet as discreetly as possible at city hall late that afternoon for a simple ceremony.

In the meantime, Megamind hoped to keep Roxanne with him for the day. Another wave of foreboding was hanging over him. For evil, it was a perfect time to make trouble. However, because they'd made the wedding plans so spontaneously, he hoped Snake wouldn't have a chance to act. He wasn't going to count on it.

Once they arrived back at the lair with the news, a delighted and teary-eyed Minion sniffled and hugged them both. Megamind couldn't resist teasing his guardian a little.

"Oh Minion, you're such a sap."

"My little boy has grown up!"

"MINION-!"

Roxanne tried to hold back a giggle, but it burst out and she began laughing loudly, eventually leaning against the wall, until the other two joined in. A pair of tiny eyes regarded them coldly from a dark corner.


	12. Chapter 12

"Wow, you two made an amazing amount of progress. What did you do? Pull an all-nighter?"

Minion yawned and shook himself. "If that means did we stay up all night, then yes." Brainbots hummed past the trio, rearranging items necessary for Megamind's plan. The new car was finished as well. They were showing her a few of the more interesting features they'd added.

"What do you think? We were going to go for a classic Shelby Cobra body, but we needed more legroom for Minion. Plus the name…"

"Eh, yeah, I can see why you'd want to avoid that." They'd opted to go for a Mustang look instead.

Roxanne shook her head watching the two of them. They looked dead on their feet. "Nap-time, boys. If we're having a wedding today, you both need at least a couple hours sleep."

Minion powered down right away and began a gentle snoring in his bowl. "Have you been working him too hard?" she chided gently.

Megamind waved his hand. "No, he's fine." Lacing their fingers together, they walked back to his bedroom. "Aren't you going to ask if I've been working too hard?"

"Why… what are you angling for?"

"Well, I'm wondering what happens on a 'sympathy date'. And if I might be able to score one of those myself."

Roxanne pretended to be shocked as he sat down on the bed grinning at her. "I should slap your face again!"

"Oh ho, really?" He pulled her over to sit down beside him. "You're a rotten actress. I can tell you aren't shocked." He gently kissed her near her ear. "I suspect you even like that suggestion a little." He hummed and nuzzled her neck, tightening his arm around her. His other hand warmed the curve of her ribs.

"Didn't I say you need a couple hours _sleep_?" she faintly protested. Shivers were racing down her spine nonetheless.

"Sleep is overrated. I suspect something else could be a lot more invigorating…"

She pulled away from his roving lips and pretended to scold, "Good guys would do this the 'right' way. The wedding's only a few hours away, you know."

"I think I'd like to be bad just this one last time." Holding her in both arms, he pulled her down to lie beside him.

Roxanne smiled at his enthusiasm. She was having a hard time wanting to wait as well. What were a few hours? "If you don't sleep now, you won't be able to stay wake tonight," she reasoned. Snuggling against him and tangling her legs with his, she said quietly, "Go to sleep."

"I love you, Roxanne," he breathed, nuzzling her hair.

Closing her eyes, she inhaled the scent of him deeply and sighed. "I love you."

_Only a few more hours… only a few more hours… I'll never fall asleep_. Then suddenly he did.

* * *

In his dream, he was looking at her, but she wasn't paying attention to him. She didn't seem to know he was there. In the strange, frustrating way dreams come to everyone, it appeared she was near enough to touch but very far away at the same time. A feeling of overwhelming longing was filling him until he felt he was smothering. He reached out his hands toward her, but she seemed to pull still father away. "Roxanne!" The word seemed to be stuck in his mouth. It wouldn't come out. "I need you! Please look at me!" She turned toward him but didn't see him. Now she was looking past him in the other direction. He was starting to feel desperate and panicky and tried to reach toward her again. "Roxanne – I need you!"

* * *

"I'm right here…" She mumbled aloud, just waking up.

Someone was pounding at the door of the room. Megamind woke with a start. He jumped off the bed and opened the door so fast it seemed like one motion. Minion was standing there, hand raised, about to knock again. He looked harassed. "Get up! We're going to be late!"

Roxanne looked at her watch and gasped. "Why didn't you come in and shake us?" she asked the unfortunate Minion, immediately regretting blaming him.

"Hey! I learned my lesson last time! I'm not opening this door without knocking!"

They rushed around getting ready. Roxanne had brought with her the outfit she'd chosen to wear, which happened to be the same expensive, blue taffeta dress she wore the last time she met with Megamind disguised as Bernard. As he'd said, it was time to replace bad memories with good ones. She also chose to wear a pearl necklace, which had been her mother's. On her wrist was a holowatch, which she would need. He'd replaced the original one with another of a smaller, more feminine design. Anyone looking closely though would see it was not a common timekeeping device. The flowers they'd called for should be waiting at city hall.

When she finished getting ready, she met Megamind and Minion by the bank of monitors. The couple looked at each other with surprise. Megamind recognized the dress she wore and smiled. Roxanne recognized what he was wearing as well – he was dressed in the same attire Bernard had worn, although in his own signature colors. She didn't know why tears came to her eyes to see him wearing the familiar trousers and jacket over a turtleneck. He held out his hand and she rushed to hug him, hoping he wouldn't see the tears. "Great minds think alike, eh?"

"Ready?"

"Definitely."

A tiny whispering sound went unnoticed as a slender, sinister shape slid under a chair.

* * *

Riding in the new car to city hall with Minion as chauffer, Megamind tried to warm Roxanne's hands in his own. They were ice cold. Maybe it was because she hated being late that she felt nervous. She was a little shivery too, so she sat as close to him as she could. He on the other hand was warm and apparently relaxed.

"You are beyond beautiful," he'd pronounced when they first set out.

"I have to match your handsomeness," she'd reciprocated the compliment, fingering his lapel. "I like your choice."

"Well, Minion actually wanted me to wear The Black Mamba, but I said that would be a little over the top." He winked at her and they both glanced at Minion who sputtered and glared at him in the rearview mirror. "Riiiight…" They snickered.

A comfortable silence filled the car now, as each was wrapped up in his or her own thoughts. Roxanne was reminiscing about long ago when she'd actually felt afraid of Megamind, the first few times he'd taken her hostage and used her as bait in a scheme. She remembered being angry with him later, then indignant and annoyed as she realized she was bound to have a recurring role in the game he and Metro Man played. She mentally relived times they'd talked together when he was Bernard and smiled to herself as she recalled watching him ride a bike for the first time in the park, walking through the art museum just after he'd restored it, laughing together in the library until the sour-faced librarian scolded them, then trying unsuccessfully not to snicker. Suddenly she had a vivid vision of his face again just before she walked away from him in the rain, the night his cover was blown. Tears pricked her eyes for the second time that day. She leaned against his shoulder and he put an arm around her and kissed her head.

As they pulled up to the curb, they both gave their holowatches a twist so they could enter the building and go to the Mayor's office unnoticed. The disguises that appeared jolted Roxanne from her sober thoughts and made her laugh aloud. Megamind had set them up to walk in as a pair – a tiny, sweet old woman and a wizened, little old man - so they did, arm in arm. No one looked at them twice. Minion came up a second behind them disguised as a janitor.

Once in the mayor's office, they turned the watch faces again to remove the illusion and smiling at each other, shared a brief kiss.

"Could I get one too? For old times' sake?" Music Man stood just to the side of them, a flirty smile on his face.

"Of course!" Megamind beamed and planted a loud smacker on the surprised countenance of the former hero. He and Roxanne cracked up at Metro Man's horrified expression. Then Roxanne kissed his cheek to let him know they held no hard feelings against him. He had indeed written the letter she warned him to write.

* * *

Down in the Recorder's office, a young reporter from Roxanne's office was chatting with the middle-aged woman at the main desk. "No, I'm serious, Deli! I had a tip they'd be here. You haven't heard anything at all?"

"No, I haven't. Everybody knows they're a couple, Matt, but you really think…?" There hadn't been any licenses that she knew of. She doubted it could be true.

"I hope so. This could be my big break. I can't believe I'm the only one here!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Can I wait in here so they don't see me in the hall?"

She sighed but was curious enough about what he'd said to allow him to wait on a hard chair in the corner. "Don't pester anybody, ok?"

"No problem!" He couldn't believe his luck. It never occurred to him to wonder why he had received the tip instead of a more seasoned reporter.

* * *

"Would you like me to give you away?" Music Man offered with sincerity. He was genuinely happy for them, although he never quite got over the fact that Megamind had managed to get the girl that he could not. It pleased him greatly though to have been asked to come witness their marriage.

"Thank you, but no," Roxanne answered kindly. "No offense… I just want it known that I'm giving myself freely." He winked at her and stepped back.

"Are you ready to begin?" the Justice asked politely.

Roxanne no longer felt nervous, but things seemed to take on a dream-like quality as someone handed her a tight bouquet of white rosebuds and she stepped with Megamind up to the trustworthy Justice of the Peace who had been asked to marry them. She heard Minion sniff in the background.

"We are gathered here today to…"

_This is really happening. Mom, I wish you were here. I hope you would be happy with me today_. Her mother's smiling face appeared in her mind very clearly. It was a memory of her before her father had left. She was young and carefree.

"…as the two of you come here freely to be united as husband and wife, and as you this day affirm your faith and love for one another, I ask that you always remember to cherish each other as…"

Roxanne was struck with a sudden panic. She swallowed hard and concentrated on the feeling of Megamind's hands firmly holding hers, but fleetly she felt they were being held against her will. _Hold it together, girl! He's never forced you to do anything. _A swirl of images blanketed her thoughts…

"And so I ask you, Megamind. Do you take this woman, Roxanne Ritchie, to be…"

She was tied to a chair with a bag over her head. She was in a dark room, listening to a deep voice laughing evilly. She was falling from a height, not knowing what would save her. She was hearing her mother crying alone in her bedroom.

"Yes, I do."

"And I ask you, Roxanne Ritchie, do you take this man…"

Megamind, standing on the steps of the courthouse, sneering at the crowd assembled before him. Now he was wearing a tattered, villainous outfit, begging for her help through the chained door. Now he was lying half-dead in the street. She was little girl again, abandoned and scared. She wanted these images to stop.

"Roxanne…?"

It was the gentle sound of his voice that brought her back to the present. She knew that voice, his real voice. Megamind the villain had not allowed himself to speak to her that way, but her hero always addressed her now in that reassuring tone. Unexpectedly, that same voice now broke into her thoughts as clear as a bell: _Trust me_. She grasped his hands more surely and, looking him straight in the eyes, answered confidently.

"Yes, I do."

A small sigh was heard in the room. "And so, by the power vested in me by this city and with full confidence in the sincerity of your promise, I hereby pronounced you husband and wife, and you may… well…" the Justice chuckled aloud. "I guess I don't have to tell you what to do next." They were already engaged in a full, lingering kiss.

The room was full of words of congratulations and easy chatter. They leaned over to sign their license on the desk. The Mayor picked it up to go take it to the filing office, but Megamind stopped him. "I'd like to take that down there myself."

_Nothing is going to happen to this paper._

He offered Roxanne his arm, and she held up her watch questioningly. "Not this time," he answered. No disguises; he wanted to walk her through the building as himself. They made quite a little parade with Minion following as well as the mayor and Music Man.

When they opened the door to the clerk's offices, a small ripple of excitement passed through the people working there. Everyone came out from their cubicles and from behind their desks, smiling at them. Someone began clapping and soon everyone joined in. Megamind was surprised and pleased at the unexpected response. He handed the most important paper of his life over to a woman whose nametag read "Deli". She smiled at him in a wondering sort of way, then examined the paper, looked at the Mayor who nodded, and said, "Ok!"

There was a party atmosphere in the room now, people laughing and talking. ("You look just like Metro Man!" "Ha, no… I get mistaken for him all the time.") Roxanne and Megamind were unintentionally separated by the crowd as office workers asked to shake their hands and even boldly requested autographs. Megamind was caught up in the pleasant atmosphere for a while but suddenly looked up in the middle of signing someone's desk calendar. _Where is she? _"Minion. Where is Roxanne?"

Minion scanned around over the small crowd. He did not see her, and he looked back at Megamind with wide eyes and shook his head.

The look that slowly came over his features like a thunderstorm was so dark it caused several people to step back until a small space was cleared around him. The room became quiet. His jaw was set and his eyebrows lowered. His fist snapped the pencil he'd been holding. "Excuse me…" he ground out the words between his gritted teeth and stalked from the room, then began pounding down the hall with Minion right behind him. He briefly noticed the young man named Matt knocked out on the floor beside the door.


	13. Chapter 13

Her head pounded from whatever he'd used to knock her out, but more uncomfortable was the feeling of choking. Realizing that she was leaning forward and sideways, she opened her eyes and sat up straighter, feeling the tightness go slack on her neck. _Déjà vu_, she thought with annoyance, becoming aware of the bonds on her wrists behind the chair. Her arms ached. She couldn't remember having been this uncomfortable as Megamind's captive. He'd always taken it rather easy on her. She gazed around the room. Oddly it looked like a normal, slightly shabby living room in any suburban home. There was a camera and television screen just in front of her and an odd, slightly smoky smell about the place. Small burn marks on various things in the room puzzled her. It was as though a careless smoker lived here. She saw several fire extinguishers sitting around as though they might be in common usage in this strange house.

"Oh, you're already awake." Snake walked around a screen set up behind her in order to the stand where she could see him. "Roxxanne," he lisped with a joyless smile, holding his head high, "I'm here to resscue you."

Confusion added to her annoyance, and she looked at him in disbelief. What was he talking about?

"I'm ssorry about the rope," he continued with a mild look of sorrow on his bland face. "But I had to make ssure you'd sstay here. You're not thinking clearly." He gave her a shy smile. He was wearing the oddly shadow-colored suit that had absorbed the ray of Megamind's dehydration gun. The hood was pulled back now, and she noticed his receding hairline and sloping forehead combined with his somewhat bulgy eyes did give him a slightly egg-headed, snakish look.

"You tied me a little too tight. And why did you put a rope on my neck? Would you take that off? It makes me feel like I'm choking." She knew she ought to be afraid, but she wasn't. She was extremely annoyed and becoming angry.

"Well… you kept falling over in your chair." He looked slightly unsure of himself; his eyes darted to the side. "I guesss I could take that one off. Oooh… I sssee it'ss made an abrassion on your neck..." His lisp became more pronounced as he leaned uncomfortably close to remove the rope and examine the skin of her neck, his fingers furtively moving to stroke the red mark left there. She could feel his breath. It made her skin crawl. He straightened up and asked curiously, "How did Megamind sstop you from falling off your chair when he kidnapped you?"

"He didn't actually put me in the chair until I was already awake," she snapped at him. "Norval – it is Norval, right? – you are making a _huge_ mistake." She knew Megamind would be livid. After all they'd done and given up to make their wedding day safe from this jerk, and he managed to screw it up anyway.

He slowly shook his head, keeping his eyes glued to her. ""No, Roxxanne. _You_ have made a misstake. You let that evil alien trick you." He lowered his weird head forward toward her, speaking slowly. "I've been watching over you ever ssince you firsst sstarted reporting. You look sso pretty on TV, especially the closse upss. I wass glad Metro Man took good care of you, but I did my part to make ssure you were ok too." The sly look on his face made a sick feeling well up in the pit of her stomach. Just how closely had he been watching her? Had he spied on her at work and even inside her apartment? She felt violated. How much had he seen of her life recently? And how?

"Then that blue devil duped everyone, but I never thought he'd fool you." Norval frowned. "When I ssaw you in all the photographss in the paperss," he spoke with obvious distaste, "danccing and holding hands with _him_, I knew I had to ssave you. I'll be your hero, Roxxanne. You were sso ssweet to me in college. I owe it to you. I alwayss thought you were the perfect girl. And sso ssmart too. You shouldn't have lisstened to him." He touched her hair. "I know you ssso much better than you realize."

She pulled her head back from his hand as far as she could. "No, he hasn't tricked me. Or hypnotized me, or used 'mega mind control' on me." Various sensational tabloids had touted all these ideas as part of their paranoid theories that Megamind still was evil and his current behavior all part of an elaborate plan to take over the city again. "That's what you're thinking, right?" She couldn't believe that's what this was all about. "Norval, we were _married_ today."

He pursed his mouth into a frown. "I'm sure it'ss not legal. You didn't get the licensse the right way." How does he know about that, she wondered. "And if you've been brainwashed, we can get it annulled, Roxxanne. It doessn't count."

"No, Norval, it does count. I agreed to get married. I wanted to get married. We had witnesses and..!"

A look of anger crossed his face as he interrupted her. "Your mother would be ssso dissappointed in you, Roxxanne…"

She exploded in anger, "How DARE you mention my mother!"

"I remember watching you - sso upsset when she died." He tried to stroke her hair again with a trembling hand.

_You bastard! _She ducked her head quickly away from his touch and glared at him. He pulled his hand back and seemed surprised at her rejection.

"Did you know you almost killed me? When you destroyed Megamind's car?"

He answered condescendingly, "I knew you weren't in it, Roxxanne. I've developed lenssess that allow me to ssee infrared light. That'ss why I told Megamind I call mysself Ssnake," he simpered. He didn't tell her he had often been teased with that name as a child. The lisp had bothered him back then, but now he thought of it as a signature part of his personality. He cultivated it even. It was how he made himself unique – like Megamind being blue and Metro Man being buff. He fancied he could be as big a celebrity as they were, with a style all his own. He wanted to be known as smooth and sly, gentle, and yet a force to be reckoned with. Roxanne should love that.

"How did you do it anyway? Make the car explode like that?" Not really caring, she pressed him for information, pretending she was grudgingly impressed.

He looked pleased at what he assumed was an interest in his ingenuity. Megamind wasn't the only clever one, he thought. Holding out his hands to her palms up, he pointed out two narrow lines that ran the length of his arms to his wrists. "Ssimple really. I can control a releasse of chemical exxplossive I invented mysself. A ssingle flick shootss it out quite far!" He chuckled. "Ssort of like Sspiderman, but thiss iss a much more sserious weapon than a web. Would you like a demonsstration?" No wonder he kept fire extinguishers all over the place. Was he really going to demonstrate an explosion like that right here in the house?

"No thanks. I've seen it work. I thought you were a physics major?"

"You pick up a lot when you work in the labss," he answered lightly. He really thought she ought to be impressed with him now. He imagined himself as a new hero - studious, serious-minded, soft in words, gentle in deeds. He imagined her with him in the lab, adoringly watching his experiments.

"Norval?" Her voice cut sharply into his daydreams. "You need to let me go - now. I don't want to see you get hurt." Actually, she did. And she wanted to stop that daydreaming look she recognized on his face. She suspected correctly he was thinking of her – with him.

"I'm not going to get hurt Roxxanne, although it'ss very nicce of you to be conccerned for me."

"Oh, I'm not really," she couldn't resist countering. "I just don't want to see Megamind put on trial for murder. And I'd like to get back to start our honeymoon."

A distasteful look crossed his face as the remnants of his rosy dream faded. She was still attached to that blue twerp. "Let'ss contact him and ssee what he hass to ssay."

"Sure. He'll be here soon anyway."

"Nooo, I'm afraid not," Norval smiled a chilling grin as he covered his head with the hood and began turning on the camera and broadcasting equipment. "You ssee… I found the tracking deviccess." He hissed to himself, obviously delighted at his own cleverness.

Just a few evenings previously Megamind had come to her apartment offering her the tiny, flat metal dots that would help him find her, just in case. When they started discussing the best locations to place them, it had pretty much turned into a make-out session on the couch. The memory of him placing one behind her ear and kissing it for good luck warmed her, and later she'd been breathlessly agreeable when he suggested placing a second one just so, as he slid a hand under her blouse and gently pressed one between the cups of her bra.

"You searched me while I was passed out? You rotten creep!" She struggled against the rope on her wrists.

"Oh yesss. I _had_ to, Roxxanne, for your own good! I really am trying to help you." He licked his lips and looked hungrily at her as he recalled checking her, not noticing that on the video screen behind him Megamind had appeared, standing in front of the monitors in the lair. "Rather impresssive how ssmall he made them. Of coursse I removed your watch-thing and desstroyed it. And I found a button jusst here," he touched behind her right ear. "And I found the other one…" he pointed toward the V neckline of her dress and stared there a moment too long. Roxanne blanched.

"You– are- _DEAD_." The sound of Megamind's voice shook Snake from his perverted thoughts. He spun around, startled. Quickly he covered his initial reaction of fear with a look of superiority. He raised his chin.

"Megamind. Sso ssorry to have interrupted your planss again, but I musst insisst that Roxxanne…"

"How many did he find?" Megamind asked Roxanne, ignoring Snake's opening speech.

"Both of them."

His face was so dark and angry that Snake took a step back and almost sat on his captive.

"You won't find her. I'm resscuing her from you." Snake's initial fear was replaced by self-confidence in his plan. "I told you I'd be the new villain for your ssilly mind gamess. But I know the truth – you're sstill evil. You alwayss will be. You jusst want to show off and make people believe you're a hero now. Well, you didn't fool me." He gestured at Roxanne. "And I won't let you fool Roxxanne any longer. I'm going to undo your brainwashing."

"If you've hurt her, you are going to pay," he growled.

Snake sneered. "Not if you can't find uss. Why are you sstill in your evil lair, 'Mega'mind? Tracking deviccess not working?" A giggling hiss escaped his lips. "I have sseveral lairss of my own I can hide her in. We can jusst keep moving from placce to placce indefinitely. But it sseemss I might not need to do that. Your 'ssuper geniuss' issn't doing much for you right now, iss it?" Snake was extremely pleased with himself. It proved to be a mistake.

The door of the house was blown open with a flash and an explosion that knocked the screen behind Roxanne over. Megamind stood there menacingly with his laser drawn and pointed at Snake. Norval looked in shock from the man in the doorway to the man on the screen, who waved back. Megamind started toward him, but he jumped behind Roxanne in a panic and put his hand over one of her bare knees.

"How did you get here? Ss-sstay back or I'll burn her!"

Megamind stopped. Roxanne worked her mouth around until she was able to spit the last small, circular device she'd kept secret onto the floor. A very passionate French kiss had placed that one under her tongue. "Missed one, Norval!" She told him sarcastically, "I thought you were going to 'rescue' me! You not supposed to burn your damsel, you stupid ass!"

Hearing the woman he'd hoped to win over insult him caused Norval Felger's trembling hand to jerk just the wrong way. He'd often had trouble with the lines dripping which was the reason for all the safety equipment and burn marks in his living room. A drop of acid explosive fell onto the soft skin of Roxanne's leg and began to sizzle. She screamed in pain. Norval cried, "Oh no!" and grabbing a fire extinguisher he'd placed near her chair, sprayed her leg, his wide eyes frightened. Just then he was tackled to the floor. Megamind began pummeling him in fury, using the full force of his anger to deliver every punch. Roxanne ignored the pain in her leg long enough to realize he might actually kill Snake if she didn't intervene.

"Stop! STOP!"

Megamind seemed to come to his senses suddenly. Snake was not moving, so he left him and turned to untie Roxanne's bonds and then knelt in front of her and looked at her leg. The foam was dripping onto the floor.

"Looks like it helped neutralize the acid. Does it hurt much?" he asked her with concern, helping her off the chair.

"No," she lied. It did hurt badly, feeling like it continued to burn, but she didn't want him to think about it too much. "I'm just glad you got here when you did. It worked!" She threw her arms around him.

He hugged her tightly. Snake was silent and forgotten on the floor behind him. The Megamind lookalike from the TV screen came into the room and, turning a dial, revealed himself to be Minion. Megamind wished they'd been able o get to Roxanne sooner. The thought of Snake putting his hands on her still made him furious. "Sorry it took so long, we…" he started to say when a thin stream of acid crossed his back diagonally. Snake had rallied enough to weakly activate his weapon. Luckily not much substance was released, but the damage was enough. Megamind arched his back and howled in pain. Roxanne, seeing Snake over Megamind's shoulder, drew the laser from his thigh holster and fired. She managed to hit him in the chest. He shuddered and lay still. She hadn't realized it was still set to 'de-stroy'.

The acid substance immediately ate through Megamind's clothing and his skin was sizzling audibly. Wisps of smoke curled up. Minion gasped aloud. Thinking quickly he grabbed an extinguisher and sprayed his friend's back before it could burst into flame.

"No, oh no!" Roxanne cried and tried to grab Megamind as he sank to the floor, his teeth gritted in pain.

"Oh my g-! You said it didn't hurt much!" he groaned as tears swam in his eyes and he tried to stay conscious.

"I only got a drop of it!" Roxanne answered. The burning was causing him to writhe on the ground. Megamind passed out, which she was grateful of. "Oh, Minion! We have to get him back to the lair, NOW!" She couldn't think how they would get him back there quickly enough. She knew that just outside the door was the airship they had used to fool Snake into thinking they were still in the lair. The brainbots had worked non-stop to disguise the inside of the ship to look like the lair's main area so Megamind and Minion could follow the tracking device's signal while deceiving Snake into thinking he was safely undetected. Roxanne didn't think the ship was fast enough, but it was all they had.

A whoosh of air announced the arrival of unexpected help. Metro Man stood in the doorway ready for action. A look of dismay came over him as surveyed the scene. "What happened? I tried to get here sooner, but I couldn't find you guys! What kind of villain hides in the suburbs?"

"Never mind that! What are you doing here?" Roxanne was incredulous that he's actually come to their aid.

Metro Man smiled and winked. "Consider it a wedding present." Gesturing at the Megamind, he continued to explain. "He left so fast no one knew what happened, but I figured out there must be some trouble for you, Roxy. You wouldn't have walked out on your own wedding party."

"Thank you so much! Will you please take Minion and Megamind back to the lair as fast as you can? He needs help." She explained briefly that Snake had sprayed Megamind with an explosive acid and while it was halted in doing any more damage, he was suffering and needed help that he could only get back in his home.

Metro Man shook his head, not quite understanding the whole story. "I'll have to hear about the rest of this later."

Minion was kneeling by the unconscious Megamind, thoroughly concerned. He looked up when Roxanne made her request. "Wouldn't you rather go with him?"

"Yes, I would, but you're the one who knows how to help him best. I don't even know how to turn on the light table. Go! Go!" She bent and kissed Megamind briefly, and then Metro Man picked up both former villains and zipped away.

As soon as the others were gone, an eerie silence settled over the house. She was alone in the wreckage with Snake's body lying on the floor. Her leg still burned, and she couldn't imagine what Megamind's back must have felt like. She thought of checking Norval for a pulse but couldn't bring herself to do it. She realized Megamind's laser was still clutched in her hand. _I hope I don't need to use it again, but I will if I have to_. Her cell phone was missing. After locating the house phone, she dialed for the chief of police and let the tears run down her cheeks.


	14. Chapter 14

_I guess I'm just going to have to get used to this. Minion seems to have managed to_, she mused, unaware of just how well Minion disguised his deep concern for his friend each time he was hurt. She stood looking over Megamind stretched out again on his blue-lit table under the silvery sheet. As before, he looked peaceful, far away from the pain. Minion had provided her with ice and salve for her leg and after they'd debriefed each other about what had happened, he'd left her to her vigil.

She smoothed the blue brow and traced down his chin, half-hoping he'd wake to her touch, then sighed and kissed his unresponsive lips. Wanting to be there in case he woke, she had returned as soon as she could to the lair after dealing with the police at the scene of Snake's mischief. The late hour and the stress of the day were weighing heavily on her now. It had been several hours already since Minion started the treatment. Reluctantly he had reported to her that the acid had burned deeply into the flesh. Who knew how long it would be before Megamind stirred. _What a wedding day!_ Looking at her back-up watch, she realized their wedding had been yesterday.

She turned and lifted the robe he apparently never used off it's hook (not knowing that after she'd first worn it, Megamind had put it aside and cherished it as a treasure) and headed to have a hot shower. As the spray washed over her, easing the tension in her muscles, she thought of young Matt and hoped he was recovering. He'd begged her to step outside the clerk's office where the post-wedding, impromptu party was happening so he could interview her. He had been so excited at getting his first big break. Caught up in the euphoria of being a new bride, she generously agreed to give him a few quotes for his article. Snake, who'd tipped Matt off in the first place, had immediately struck him down as soon as they came out.

It bothered her immensely how much Snake had known about their plans and activities. While she waited for the police with Snake's inert body nearby, she'd kept herself from breaking down completely by trying to figure out how he did it. It wasn't until later when Minion showed her a fist full of slender, snake-shaped mechanical devices that she began to understand. In stalking her, Snake had discovered Megamind's lair and planted his little spies there and in her apartment as well. Then he'd watched them through those tiny cold eyes. Maybe they were able to transmit sound as well. Megamind would take them apart later and find out how they worked. Once Roxanne disappeared and he realized the extent of Snake's knowledge, Megamind had ordered the brainbots to scan the lair and apartment for foreign apparatus. The self-propelled, snaky shapes the brainbots returned with disgusted him. It made her feel sick all over again to think of Norval watching them together all that time.

She finished her shower and dried off. Now wasn't the time to think about the fact that she had actually killed Norval. The police had assured her she would not be charged. Holding the robe around herself, she returned to the bedroom and seeing no change in the still, blue form, she resignedly slid into bed. The black sheets felt cool and silky as she ran her hand over his pillow. It was first time she'd actually crawled under the covers on this bed, and she wished Megamind was beside her. With another sigh, her eyes slowly closed.

* * *

The room was dark except for a dim glow on the table. She woke to the sound of rustling and a click. After a pause, there was a slow, scraping sound that she couldn't quite recognize. _Is he rearranging furniture?_ The sheets lifted and the bed dipped slightly under the weight of someone lying down. Two strong arms slid around her and pulled her close against a warm body with a familiar scent. It was exciting and comforting at the same time. Minion hadn't left any clothes at the end of the table for him, but Megamind wouldn't have bothered with them even if he had. She smiled and hummed, eyes still closed, and wrapped her slender arms around him and crossed her leg over his. A tingling feeling spread through her chest and rushed down to her feet. Lips brushed her jaw and explored her earlobe, causing the tingly feeling to intensify. She stroked the bare skin down the back of his neck and across his shoulders with the lightest touch. She heard him take a deep breath in and release it slowly.

"What was that sound I heard just now?" she asked quietly.

"I locked the door."

"No, the other sound."

"…well, I moved the wardrobe in front of it too."

Laughter bubbled out of her. "Who would possibly come in? You know Minion won't."

"I don't know, but I'm not taking any chances…" _It seems like we've waited FOREVER and I'm not waiting any more!_

She laughed again. Somehow she knew what he was thinking and her own thoughts answered back, _no need to wait any more_.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with all the mess on your own," he said seriously, realizing what she must have had to do after he'd been taken from the scene. "Any trouble after I left?"

"No," she answered. Then, although she didn't want to discuss it now, she reassured him, "There won't be any more trouble."

Although her words were vague, he understood that Snake was dead. The analytical part of his brain pondered why the ray gun set to 'destroy' as opposed to 'dehydrate' had been able to affect the strange suit. He'd like to get a sample of that fabric and see if…

"Megamind," Roxanne broke into his musings, "Do you have to think about that right now?"

"Oh! No, of course not…" He looked at her in mild surprise. "Wait, how did you know what I was thinking?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I just had a sense of some scientific machinations happening up there. But you've been doing it too - knowing what I'm thinking. Is this what the link is all about?"

"Let's try something." In a low voice, he asked suggestively, "What am I thinking about now…"

She giggled. "Ummm, that's a little too easy! The rest of you is giving me hints!"

He laughed with her, pleased at the lack of self-consciousness he felt. This amazingly wonderful woman was finally his. Gazing into her eyes glistening in the dark room, a sense of exactly how much she meant to him rushed over him in a wave. He stroked her cheekbone with a thumb and declared sincerely, "Roxanne… I love you... so much." Kissing her full lips roused him to yet a more intense level of desire. Pressed himself to her more closely, he felt her response inside and out. _I love you_.

"Nice bed you have here, Mr. Hero," she murmured in his ear, thinking about when she'd awakened here a few months back to see him asleep beside her after recovering from the battle with Titan.

"I'm glad you like it," he answered, taking his time kissing the soft curve where her neck met her shoulder. "I told you some day you'd see more of it. Are you ready?"

"Yes, please… I'd like the full tour," she said, her blue eyes looking into his incredible green ones. He was gazing down at her, and her mind was overwhelmed with the full force of his emotions. Then he covered her lips with his and opened her robe.

* * *

"Well, well! What are you doing out here?" Minion queried, carrying a basket of clothing to the washing machine. He hadn't expected to see either of his friends much that day, but there sat Megamind in his leather chair before the monitors. He was wearing the robe Minion recalled he had once loaned to Roxanne. That day seemed long ago now.

"Ah, Minion! Good morning! Just came out to check on things." He smiled. "Roxanne is asleep."

"I would have assumed so," Minion winked.

Megamind chuckled to himself. "Yes…" He rested his chin in his hand and directed an unfocused gaze at the nearest monitor with a smug look on his face.

"And, ah… the link?" Minion interrupted his pleasant reminiscing.

"It seems to have taken," he responded. "It's not as though I can read her thoughts precisely, but we seem to have a strong sense of what the other person is feeling or thinking."

"Interesting!" Minion was glad for them. He wondered what it would look like to see the link in action. "What about over a distance? Do you think that'll affect your ability to-?"

Megamind shot up from his chair. A smile curled the corner of his mouth and his eyes widened. "She's awake!" Minion watched as he ran down the hall, skidded and grabbed the frame to stop himself from sliding past the doorway to their room. He threw himself inside, and the door slammed shut.

Chuckling to himself, Minion hefted the basket and continued on to the laundry. "Well, I guess that answers that question!"

* * *

**The End**, my dears! It's been fun. It's been very distracting! I think I would like to try writing more. Hopefully, inspiration will strike again. Please leave feedback – helpful hints, ideas, encouragement and constructive criticism are welcome (gently! gently!). If I missed something glaring here, I may go back and edit. Thank you **so** very much to all who have left reviews up to now and offered advice or even asked questions. The response has been more than I ever expected. Now stop wasting time and go get your work done. (Oh wait – that's me admonishing myself) God bless!


End file.
